


Servus To The Dragon

by Reggie_live101



Category: One Piece
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Bounty Hunters, Claustrophobia, Dark Past, Enhanced Humans - Freeform, Enies Lobby, Flirting, Friendship, Going Merry - Freeform, Gone Rouge, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I don't really know what to tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Going to Hell, Illegal Activities, Illegal Fighting, Implied Past Relationship(s), Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Killing for Sport, Love/Hate, Loyalty, Mind Control, Nakamaship, Night Terrors, Other, Panic Attack, Pirates, Sabaody Archipelago, Skypiea, Slightly Multifaceted personality, Slow recovery, Social Phobia, Swearing, Thousand Sunny - Freeform, Torture, Tragedy, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unpredictable, Violence, Warrior - Freeform, Water 7, Withdrawal, reckless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-02 19:52:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13325322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reggie_live101/pseuds/Reggie_live101
Summary: The Straw hats are known to get into fights for the people they call friends. But maybe they bit more off then they could chew when they encounter Aries.All she wants is to get back home... Maybe on the way, she'll get revenge... Or maybe revenge will get her.Current chapter being edited - Chapter 6(This is going to be a tad darker take on One Piece)Mostly revolves around adventure, just a tad darker, more violent.Slightly AUI do not own One Piece





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updated. This is just a small bit of what I'm planning. The series is a little AU. Nothing major! Just small bits.

Sanji slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, and it took a few seconds to adjust to the dim litten cave-like cell. His body ached, he was on his knees with his arms, being held up by barbed wire. He was in the middle of the room, there was blood around him, well not surprising since his chest had been slashed a bit.

Sanji looked around the room and saw other tools and weapons that were covered in dry and fresh blood.

“Shit… I Hope Nami-san, Robin-chan and Ari-chan are alright” He exhaled panickily.

He tried to move but pain shot around his body as he gritted his blood covered white teeth, he stopped his movements and the room fell silent.

“I could really go for a smoke right now” he scoffed.

Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a heavy, door being pushed open, the sound pierced Sanji ears.

Sanji looked up and saw an a tall-ish crimson haired woman approach him. He would be swooning over her but after what she did to Aries. It took everything he had not to.

“So, you're to the cook right?” She grinned.

Sanji watched as the older woman approached him. He saw that she pulled out a tactical knife, as she did his eyes narrowed.

“So tell me…Sanji Vinsmoke~ what's a cook without any hands?

As she spoke his full name his eyes widened and became a little panicky.

“H-how do you know that?”

She smiled. “Well, after your little show back at Enis Lobby, someone came to the government to ask about your wanted poster. Obliviously they found the wrong person… But looking at your face now, and from what we were shown it's not hard to put two-and-two together. And besides, the curly eye-brows kinda give it away. I must say you do look like them, but it's your hair colour that's different." she smiled.

"Who exactly are you... You cant be just a mare marine. From the information you have, you must be someone important..."

"Ah, well I would love to tell you but I don't really have much time to explain it"

There was a moment of silence.

“What now, you giving me back to them” he hissed.

“Now where's the fun in that? Hm? The government doesn't even know I've captured you yet. I want a little fun with you all before I hand you over~”

She placed a collar around his neck that connected to the wall, via a chain. She stood up and grabbed one of his hands.

“You never answered the question… What's a cook without any hands?” she spoke sadistically.

She moved a bit of the barbed wire out of the way so she could place the blade onto the joint of his wrist. She pressed the blade down and it pierced his skin, however, she didn’t press it deep enough. He gritted his teeth, he wasn’t going to give in that quick.

She pulled the blade and blood followed, Sanji tried to get out of her grasp but she had a strong grip.

Sanji’s focus was broken when he suddenly heard screams of agony echo throughout the halls. Once it hit his room it seemed to have amplified. His eyes widened as the sound hit his ears.

“T-that voice…”

“Ahh, it seems he's up and about~” she stopped what she was doing.

Sanji looked at her and saw a sadistic, evil smile on her face, her eyes were crazed.

“You bastards are going to pay!” Sanji spat out.

“Hmm, is that so~?”


	2. Starting point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like its a "legend of a half-breed"... Apologies >.<  
> I'm not trying to make it a Merry Sue or some shit like that. But whatever I do/give to Aries there will be minor/dire consciousness for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated, edited. Little insignificant details added.

 

 

> _**"A past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets.** **The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped..."**_

 

 

> _**Level 5 of Impel Down** _

 

What hurts the most wasn’t her injuries. No. It was the cold, her body numb from it, every time she breathed it was like daggers stabbing her from the inside.

It was bad enough that she only had her thin prisoners outfit on, the pants tucked in her loose black combat boots, and a loose fitting tank top.

They were thin and were destroyed, fucking perfect.

Yeah maybe she did have a thick-ish blanket wrapped around her body, specialised gloved and socks so she doesn’t get frostbite and her head wrapped up. Hell, she just looks like a giant sushi roll.

But even if she was wrapped up like that, being out in the freezing temperatures for hours, even days on end, a broken and beaten body and starving. It was hell.  There was only so much the clothing could do for her, it had been wrecked. Covered in rips and tears, holes dotted around. 

When she breathed the frigid air would make its way into her body, freezing her even more, chilling her to the bone (quite literally). What made it even worse was that some of her injuries, the blood would freeze up and the slightest movement from her would reopen them, causing them to tear up even further.

They didn’t want her dead. God no.  They wanted her to suffer, but most of all they wanted – _needed_ – her alive.

She was in a small specialised cell, out of the way of everything else. The only way to know about the cell is if you were actively looking for it or you just stumble upon it.  Her head wasn't even functioning properly; like the rest of her body. Her legs were chained up, not that she had the energy to run, but just that they wanted her to know that she won’t be able to go anywhere.

Her limp body face first on the thin snowed layered floor slowly moved, amber and black eyes slowly moving, looking at the 3 wolves that were drooling over her, their drool practically freezing up.

_G-god... how long h-have they been there...?_

Suddenly they ran away, and she could hear the satisfying sound of the snow crunching underneath someone’s feet.

She knew who that was, there was no mistaking it. She saw the wolves suddenly ran off, and a figure wrapped up in winter garbs approached her cell. Her eyes crawled up the person's figure, coming to a stop at that sadistic smile, she knew that smile, she knew what came next.

 _God… t-this is…gonna be…a long day._  

 

* * *

  ** _-Days After-_**

 

 

> _**Somewhere in the Grand line** _

 

The deck of the Going Merry was quiet for once, well apart from the snores of the swordsman, who was pressed up against the side of the railing. Luffy and Usopp were fishing, Nami reading the paper, Robin reading a book in the kitchen while drinking coffee with Sanji was preparing dinner and Chopper sorting in medical supplies out.

A heavy sigh came from the young reindeer, causing the chef and the archaeologist to look away from what they were doing.

“Something wrong Chopper?” Sanji inquired.

“I’m running out of supplies” he replied while putting everything away.

“Hm, you’ve got a point. I’m running out of food supplies as well.” Sanji looked back at the cooking he was doing, making sure to keep stirring the food in the pot.

“We're not far from an island”

Everyone turned their head to the doorway, where a red-headed woman stood leaning against the side.

“Aww, Nami~Swan Dinners almost ready my love” the chef had hearts in his eyes.

“How long would it take, miss navigator?” The older woman voiced in.

There was a pause a Nami thought for a moment while looking back out to the sea and her log pose and map. “Hm, maybe a day or two, depending on how good the winds going to be”

Robin smiled as she closed her book and took a sip of her coffee. Nami was about to open her mouth when she was cut off.

“Sanji, when’s dinner ready!” the oh-so familiar voice screamed from the deck.

“Soon!” he shot back.

Nami made her way back to the deck, walking up to Luffy who was laid on the floor with the fishing rod lying next to him.

“We're going to have to stop off at an island not far from here to get some supplies.” As the navigator spoke this the young raven-haired boy shot up with a big grin on his face.

“Yosh!”

 

* * *

 

 

Pain.

God so much fucking pain.

She bit her bottom lip to the point where blood trickled down to her chin.

“Aw, com’on Aries~ don’t be like that. I just want to hear your screams~.” The crimson-haired woman spoke with such pleasure.

_Nyx…t-the fucking bitch…_

Aries was chained up in the middle of a rocky, closed off room. It was somewhat dark in there, the only light that illuminated the _room_ was the boiling blood.  The cave styled room was a big-ish place and at one end of the room, some of the flooring had been replaced with blood that had leaked through. It gave the room a red tint to it, the light bounded off weapons and other torturing devices, however, Aries wasn’t too bothered by that, all that she was grateful for was the warmth.

Aries was on her knees with her arms chained up, her legs bound to the floor with specialised clamps that were bolted to the floor. The “clamps” had a row of dagger-like blades going down the middle of them. Nyx had locked her right lower leg in, making sure the blades slowly pierced her lower limb. A smile went across her face as a painful gasp escaped Aries' mouth. Aries’s other leg was a little tricky, however. Since her lower leg had been replaced with a robotic style prosthetic leg. Nyx heated the blades up, so they would cut through the metal, but as it did electrocute Aries a bit.

Well, that just made Nyx smile even more.

Nyx was standing in front of Aries's naked, limp body. Gashes, lacerations and other serious wounds covered her scared, light tanned body, as well as her body sporting bruises. Old and new Wounds and bruises scattered across her body giving her skin colour a darker tone to it. Her wrists were bounded by razor-sharped, barbed wire, cutting her flesh and muscle, even her bone a bit. Nyx was holding onto a metal rod with a sharp end, she would place it in the boiling blood, making sure the rod turned white.

Nyx made her way around to the back of Aries. Aries's back was covered in old, faded scars and fresh new ones. However, Nyx’s raspberry coloured eyes landed on a big burn scar on the back of Aries’s right shoulder blade, she placed her fingertips on it making Aries flinch. A sadistic smile went across Nyx's mouth.

“Com’on Aries. You know _he’s_ going to be very angry with you when he finds out.”  Nyx placed her hand on the back of Aries's shoulder, slowly moving it around, placing her hand around her neck.

Nyx slowly moved her head closer to Aries's ear. “You know what happens when he gets upset…my little _huntress_ ~” she spoke sweetly. With her kissing Aries on her bloodied cheek.

Aries didn’t say anything, hell she couldn’t even if she wanted to, her throat was completely dry. All her body could do was shiver, shiver at the thought of a life she wished she could forget.

Nyx placed the burning hot rod on her left shoulder blade, pressing it down and then slowly dragging it down across her back. Aries tensed up and bit her lip, refusing to give in to her. Nyx licked Aries's blood off her lips satisfactorily.

She continued to do this on her back, then she placed the boiling rod of the back of Aries slightly visible ribs, pressing down once again and moving it just under her left breast coming to a stop at her diaphragm. She pressed the sharp part into her skin, the smell of burning flesh filled the room, Nyx didn’t seem to care too much she was lost in a sea of pleasure and excitement.

Aires hated this so much, she hated feeling vulnerable, she hated feeling weak, helpless. But most of all, she hated _them_.

There were really no words to describe it.

But she knew one thing, she knew she was going to make them all regret turning her into…into whatever she was now. She had long forgotten the girl she used to be.

“My, that’s a foul look on your face, Ari”

Nyx moved the still burning rod up, between her breast stopping in the middle of her sternum, pressing it into her skin again, this time showing no signs of stopping. The sounds of bone cracking, skin ripping and blood gushing out was music to Nyx ears.

Aries moved her head back gritting her teeth, even if she’s had worse, it still hurt.

Nyx stopped pushing the rob in her chest, she let go of it and walked to the small _lake_ of boiling blood, she got a pot and filled it up and walked back to Aries, with the rob still sticking out of her chest, she could feel it burning up inside of her.

_Fuck! Don’t s-scream! You can’t! D-don’t give in… but god it fucking burns!_

“My Aries, you don’t want to play today?”

Nyx stood in front of Aries, she then bent down placing the bowl on the floor taking off her specialised gloves and putting them down.

She looked at Aries, placing her hand under her chin, she placed her thumb on Aries's full, busted up bottom lip and slowly pulled it down to her chin. Nyx moved her face closer, lips nearly touching.

“You know, he misses you~,” she said with a smile.

Aries closed her eyes tight, not wanting to think about _him_. Her train of thought stopped when she felt her lips being pressed. She reluctantly opened her eyes, as she did she saw Nyx pulling her face away with a smile and blood on her lips.

Aries took a deep breath, pain shooting around her broken body, with Nyx so close, she only had one shot, she didn’t know if she had the energy, or get the chance again, so it was now or never.

Nyx was looking at her a little weirdly, when suddenly she got electrocuted, throwing her back a bit.

“Dammit!” Nyx hissed.

She looked at Aries who was now breathing, painfully heavy. Nyx gritted her teeth looking pissed off, she got up a grabbed the pole still in Aries's chest moving it about violently, Aries gasped painfully trying to catch her breath.

“Wow, can’t believe you got me. And here I was thinking you didn’t have the energy for _that_.”

Aries coughed up a bit of blood, she looked Nyx dead in the eyes. As she did a smile swept across Nyx's face.

“Well. We’ll just have to get rid of that now, won't we…?” she violently removed the rod with blood following, placing the specialized gloves back on she picked up the bowl from the floor.

Nyx placed her right behind Aries's head, gripping tight to her black hair, she pulled her head up and brought the bowl closer. As she did a bit spiled out falling into her chest. As it made contact, Aries's eyes widened as pain covered her body. She could feel the flesh melting away.

She found it so hard not to scream.

Nyx smiled, that sickening smile.

She brought the bowl closer to Aries' mouth, she struggled in the process causing her wounds to open, making more blood gush out.

But before Nyx did anything, she looked down with an irritated look and sighed.

“Now, how is this going to work…” she let go of Aries's head and walked to the door.

She was talking to someone, but Aries was exhausted to pay any attention. She hardly eaten or had anything to drink for 2 months now, she keeps gaining new injuries, while her old ones don’t have time to heal or they just keep getting reopened, making it worse. And she knew for sure she had some broken bones, she could feel that her right shoulder was dislocated.

Fuck. She just had to come from that race. she would be anything else if it meant not being here, hell she'd be a fucking clam if that's the case.

Her train of thought was cut off again when her head got violently lifted up, she was too out of it that she didn't realise that Nyx had returned, but when she looked up she saw Nyx standing in front of her, Aries couldn’t see who was behind her, but the hands on the side of her face was definitely a mans.

Nyx forced Aries's mouth open, she lifted the bowel to her face and gently pored the blood straight down her throat.

Fuck it, she tried to scream but only gargling was the only sound to escape her mouth.

Melting, she could feel it making it way down her throat, burning her, her stomach started to bleed. It was melting through her stomach, making its way back out of her.

Nyx stopped as she did the person behind her let go of her head as they did Aries fell back down, blood pouring out of her mouth. She didn’t know if it was hers or not.

Aries breathing was raspier at best, it burnt her, she could feel her body shutting down on her. Suddenly her head to hoisted up again and she was met with the same pain. But now, the pain was getting numbed, hell everything around her was senseless. Everything was going dark, the pain, the voices, her own breathing.

There was nothing but darkness.

She didn’t cry, she didn’t beg for mercy. No that’s not like her, she would NEVER beg for mercy, NEVER cry. She couldn’t if she wanted to, her voice box was destroyed, hell at this moment there was properly nothing left of it.

The last thing she could hear before being swallowed by the darkness was Nyx. “Now Aries, I should properly get you cleaned up. After all, _he_ wants you back~”

Then there was darkness and she welcomed it like an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first One Piece fanfic, so I apologize in advanced if some of the straw hates are a little OOC or what not, I will do my hardest to make sure if their not, however if they are feel free to tell me.
> 
> This will Fic will dive into a bit of dark territory. I was planning on putting this as explicit but I haven't made my mind up yet.  
> Reading this fic will take patience. I will be adding hints and information, here and there. But some of it will come to a head after Enis Lobby. 
> 
> The POV will change, but it will kinda focus on Aries.


	3. Escape

The straw hats had docked at an island called Knyra. The island had two cities, one called Erast and Lilyrose.

Erast was your standard lawless town, where pirates, wanted criminal and what-not can come and go as they please. While Lilyrose was where civilians lived. The two cities were cut off by a border heavily guarded by the local police. The police there are known to be able to handle themselves against strong fighters and devil fruit users.

The dock where the straw hates had docked was pretty lively, shouting, laughing, and arguing. They had to pay a fee for docking their ship, and while Nami did that Usopp started to get all the stuff he needed to repair the Merry. Nami decided to go with Zoro and Luffy to keep an eye on them while Chopper and Sanji went to markets, Robin was left on the ship with Usopp enjoying a book she hadn’t finished.

Nami was walking around town trying to keep Zoro and Luffy on a short leash. There were fights going on, people drinking on the streets, Nami had spotted a few women standing on corners of alleyways, looking around keenly. Luffy, like always, wanted something to eat and Nami physically had to hold him down so he didn’t run off. They had managed to find a place that was close to the border and Lilyrose’s docks, it was lively, with Luffy nearly eating them out of everything.

Sanji and Chopper had gotten to the markets, unlike the rest of the town the market area seemed somewhat, _sane_. Sanji was looking at all the stalls, while Chopper had found some new medical supplies.

“Everything all right Chopper?” Sanji questioned as he walked towards the reindeer with hands full of shopping bags.

“There are so many herbs here, that'll be great to make some new medicine,” he said with a smile.

Sanji smiled at him than his attention suddenly shifted to some women who had walked by, falling head over heels for them. Chopper gave him comical worrying smile

Nami was walking in the middle of Zoro and Luffy while walking back to the ship. It was a nice day, the sun was shining in the sky with a slight warm breeze in the air, everything seemed to be going all right so far, but Nami knew better than to hope for a peaceful day. Nami looked through the gates that separated the two towns and saw how calm and nice it looked on the other side, Nami saw that they were also right next to a dock with all kinds of ships in them.

There was a shady looking man leaning against a streetlight. He was wearing a dark coloured cloak with his head down looking through some wanted posters, when he suddenly can to a stop at Luffy’s and Zoro’s wanted posters, the man shot up head up looking at the walk by and a toothless smile appeared on his face.

“Hold it right there!” his croaky voice barked, all the while gripping his sword.

All three of them turned around with a blank-ish look on their faces.

“Who're you?” Luffy asked while picking his nose.

“I’m the one who’s going to take your bounties!”

They looked completely unfazed by this.

“Eh, come on guys just ignore him,” Nami said as she pulled Luffy and Zoro away.

_EH?! The red-headed bitch! I’d get rid of her first then I can take their bounties!_

The man moved forward taking his sword from his side and aimed it straight at Nami. He was about to take her down when suddenly Zoro appeared behind her stopping the blow, Zoro had pushed Nami to the ground hard.

“The hell jackass!” Nami screamed, however, she looked a little taken back as she saw Zoro above her.

The man went for another blow at Zoro but Luffy punched him, sending him flying into some buildings with some people getting coughed in the crossfire.

“Yosh!” Luffy had a massive smile on his face.

“Could save some of the fun y’know Luffy” Zoro hissed and he sheathed his Wado.

“Shishishish, sorry” he had a massive grin on his face

Before they could savour their victory, the police were already there looking at the damage they had caused. There were two police looking at one of their comrades knocked out on the floor thanks to Luffy.

“Hey, you!” a policeman shouted as he placed his hand on his gun.

“Are you the one resoluble!” he came closer.

“Shit” Nami and Zoro synchronized.

They stood there when suddenly there was a gigantic explosion coming from the docks on the other side. It blew everyone back a bit and Luffy turned into a balloon, with Zoro and Nami landing on him to soften the blow.

“We need to get back to the ship now!” Nami screamed.

Luffy and Zoro reluctantly followed her, luckily Erast docks aren’t that far away.

As they were running Luffy was looking around.

“Where’s Zoro?”

As he said this Nami stopped dead on her tracks with a pissed off look on her face. she clenched her hand making her knuckles turned white and clenched her teeth together.

“THAT MORON!” she screamed.

Zoro was staring at a dead-end in some dirty looking alleyway.

“Where the hell have they gone?”

 

 

 

> **_– 10 minutes before –_ **

**_Blood poured out of her mouth, out of her stomach, actually, it practically poured out nearly everywhere on her body. Her mouth was being forced open, and scolding hot liquid ran down her throat._ **

**_Melting was the first thing to came to mind, agony second._ **

**_Darkness._ **

**_“Now Aries, I should properly get you cleaned up. After all, he wants you back~”_ **

Aries woke up with a jolt, sending pain rushing throughout her body.

  _Ah, s-shit… I wish it was a dream… stupid bitch is gonna fucking pay!_

She was chained up inside of a cell on a ship. Looking around she saw 2 guards outside and dim lighting.

She was somewhat grateful that she was on a ship. It gave her time to heal. Even 3 days after having the blood poured down her throat, she could talk somewhat, even tho it hurt. It was progress.

Gotta love fast healing.

But her healing isn’t strong, well not anymore. After many years of abuse, it eventually catches up, she was surprised that it's done this much. Still, she's going to be having new scars, and no doubt she’ll have scars on the inside as well.

Aries slowly moved her body, the clothes she had before Nyx got her hands on her, were back on, this time sporting more tears and blood. Aries had some bandaged on her, but her shoulder was still dislocated. It irritated her so much. She's had so many problems with that shoulder that it’s not really a surprise that it irritates her; she's lost count on how many times it’s been injured.

She was surprised actually, that she _awoke_ this quick, sometimes she would be out for days or weeks, usually depends honestly.

Aries eyes lazily made their way around the cell, it was a standard small cell, it was clean, apart from her blood that was dotted around. She laid on the floor while her arms bounded behind her, while a wearing a plain black hard mask that covered her mouth and nose.

_S-seastone…fuck_

“How long do we have to be here for?”

“I don’t know”.

“Captains been gone for a day”

“I know, but don’t forget this islands massive. It takes about half a day just to get to the capital, and that were on the end of the island” he had a bit of annoyance to his voice.

“Hump, I hate waiting…”

Her eyes landed on 2 young looking marines and they looked a little anxious. she noticed one, a blonde haired skinny looking, 17-18-year-old kid. He was gripping his rife pretty tight, she could see how nervous he looked, looking back at her from the corner of his eye. The other one, 20 maybe 21-year-old with brown hair, he wouldn’t even look at her. Aries could see the sweat dripping down his face.

She's, unfortunately, been around all kinds of marines throughout her life, and just from looking at these 2, so could tell that they were scared, and best of all… rookies.

Perfect.

Aries could feel a smile form on her face.

“y-you…know” Aries voice was gravelly and painful. She made painful groans as she pushed herself up to lean against that wall, a movement that left her exhausted.

As she spoke they both jumped. They looked back at her not saying anything.

“Y-you know…these c -cough-…cuffs, are making…it hard, for me to heal”

 Both marines looked at each other then back at her.

“Y-you’re not supposed to be up” the blonde spoke shakily.

“M-maybe…so…but I can’t heal with these cuffs on…” she responded.

“w-we can’t talk to you!” the brown-haired spoke.

“I-I get that…b-but…I…” Aries trailed off her eyes going heavy, and with her coughing up a lot of blood, which didn’t go anywhere due to the mask, she started to struggle to breathe and she ended up collapsing onto the floor.

“Hey!” the blonde shouted but got no response.

They both looked at each other, with the brown-haired kid opening the cell door and they made their way inside hesitantly. They got close to her, with the blonde one checking to see if she had a pulse, but quickly panicked when he couldn’t find one.

“Shit!” he spat. “she's got no pulse!”

“And. She's just going to die soon isn't she?” the brown haired spoke while resting his rifle down.

“Idiot! If Caption Nyx finds out we’re fucked!  Remember what happened to Jack? They’re still cleaning him up from between the floor broads!”  the skinny blonde exhaled quickly.

“Dammit…what about if it is the handcuffs?” he hissed.

“And besides, Captain told up to make sure she doesn’t kick the bucket!”

The room fell silent for a moment.

“Shit” The blonde looked at her, her frame was still. He hesitantly got up and hurried to the key from a desk near the entrance of the cells and rushed back. Once he got back he looked at his crewmate. His comrade slowly moved Aries, so he could get to the cuffs, the blonde slowly bent down and put the key near the lock.

“A-are you sure about this?”  his brown-haired friend spoke, his voice cut through the heavy atmosphere that was suffocating them.

“We haven’t got a choice, if Cpt Nyx finds out, we are so screwed.”

“True, but we don’t know what will happen once we take these off”

As his friend said that the blonde froze, sweat beading down the side of his face. He had to place his other hand around his wrist to stop it from shaking.

“Dammit…what could she do? I mean she isn't exactly the picture of health, right? I mean she was pretty damaged when Captain brought her in right?” the blonde trailed off.

“Unless we just uncuff one of her hands?” the brown-haired spoke quickly.

The blonde looked at him, and a smile went across his face. “Great! Well just cuff her with a non-seastone cuff”

The blonde shakily put the key in the lock, unlocking the cuff, but as soon as he did, Aries's eyes snapped open, she put her right foot behind the blondes head, on his left side, and with a swift but quick motion, she slammed her left foot onto his left cheek, pushing her left foot forward and making sure her right foot was hooked behind his head and pulled her leg towards her. Efficiently snapping his head in one quick motion.

Even before his body hit the floor, she was already onto the brown-haired kid, placing her left hand onto his face, blocking his mouth and his nose. He was laid out on the floor with a petrified look in his eyes, Aries's battered body was sat on top of his, the look in her eyes was menacing, such ferocity, it chilled him to the core. It was like staring at a ravaged beast.

She had a death grip on his face, he could feel the blood flowing down onto his face from her arm. He tried to grab the rifle that was at the side of him, but Aries placed her right knee onto his biceps, pressing down with the little strength she had left, but it was enough, for now, to keep the 5’9’’man to the floor.

The kid could feel Aries's grip tighten, he could also feel her pressing down, pushing in head onto the stone floor.

Aries looked into his eyes and saw terror, he was clawing her hand digging his fingernails into her skin, blood-filled underneath his nails, a desperate attempt to try and get her off it.

“Y-you know…” she stopped as she started to cough up a little bit of blood. However her grip tightened, and she pressed down onto his head even harder.

The young man clawed at her hand, however, this didn’t seem to bother her as she leaned in a little closer.

“You know…crushing heads…it's like crushing watermelons…” she rasped, voice being strained.

The look in her eyes was that of a sadistic beast, even if he couldn't see the smile, he knew she had one.

Aries pressed down harder, tightening her grip. She looked him dead in the eyes. The room was quiet and stuffy. The harder she pressed and tighter she gripped, the quietness was replaced by the sound of muffled cries and a thrashing body.

Harder and tighter.

Tighter and harder.

Her muscle tensed underneath her tan, bloody-bruised skin. The sound of bone beginning it give was nothing new to her, her fingers had crushed into his skull with his body begging to slowly stop, due to not getting any oxygen. Aries pressed harder, blood had started to leak out from his ears and some coming out of his eyes and nose.

In a quick motion, Aries pressed down with everything she had left, the sound of the skull smashing and the sound of blood splattering out filled the cell. Blood had splattered onto Aries's face, her hand covered in red, with bits of skull and brain. His body fell still, there was a pool of blood, brains and skull were his head should have been.

Aries gazed at the gory mess she had made, her split pupils not moving from that spot. A moment had passed, and she snapped out of it. Aries slowly moving off his limp body, grunting and groaning as she did, her bones creaking. She managed to press herself against the wall, steadying herself.

Aries winced as she tried to catch her breath she dragged her body across the wall while limping, while her dislocated arm dangled at the side of her. She managed to get out of the cell, Aries had grabbed a belt of one of the corpses, she managed to fold the fabric she had grabbed and placed it between her arm and the side of her ribs, she tied her arm to her chest, making sure it pressed again the fabric, she gritted her teeth as she tightened it. Aries did this so that her arm wouldn’t swing about for the fight that she knew was about to come.

Aries used her bloodied arm to undo the mask at the back of her head. She grabbed the front of it and slowly took it off her face, blood infused slaver dropped down from it

Aries closed her eyes as she breathed in through her mouth and out of her nose, she did this for a moment or two, trying to relax and see if she could _sense_ how many were on the deck.

_There are about 8 marines left on the deck_

luckily this ship wasn’t a massive one. It was big enough for a crew of about, 15-20 members. She knew Nyx wanted to be none conspicuous, so it was perfect that the ship was small. And besides, they weren’t expecting her to be _awake_ , let alone moving around.

Aries picked up a dagger from the interrogations locker and slowly made her way out into the corridor, slowly making her way down the dim litten corridor with her thin tail trailing on the floor. She got to one on of the doors and slowly opened it, it was empty, she closed it and looked through the others. Luckily, they all were empty. As she staggered up the stairs she was finding it hard to breathe.

“D-dammit -ha- -ha-” she wheezed.

 Aries tried to catch her breath, but the door suddenly opened, as it did she was met with blue eyes staring at her. She was already on him, not giving him the chance to get his next breath. She had lunged the dagger into the side of his neck, just under his ear and pulling it down, blood gushed out all over the place, decorating Aries in the process.

**_7_ **

The remaining marines looked round, either in horror of complete shock…properly both. Aries was light on her feet considering, but it still caused her great pain.

The marines didn’t have their weapons on them, so they were completely defenceless. And Aries was playing for keeps. She shot across the deck towards a male marine who was near the mast, he was about to run but Aries lunged the dagger straight into his heart and he hit the floor.

**_6_ **

Aries placed her hand on the mast trying to catch her breath, but every time she breathed it hurt. She was completely out of it that she didn’t notice a marine go for some weapons. They shot at her and she managed to get out of the way, but she ended up taking a shot to her leg. She grunted but pressed on.

Aries noticed that there were barrels of explosives that they had been loading onto the ship. She didn’t really feel like being blown up at the moment, so she’d try and stay away.   

“SOMEONE GO GET A DEN MUSHI TO WORN THE CAPTAIN! AND GET GO FINE THE VICE CAPTAIN! A voice broke out through the gunfire.

As they shouted one of the Marines broke off their assault and headed to get off the ship. 

The ship was filled with shouting that was coming from the marines and gunfire, but Aries could hear none of it, it was completely silent.

Aries wasn’t going to let this happen. She shot across the deck again and headed straight to the marine who was frozen in his tracks, they still shot at her taking another bullet wound to her abdomen. She sunk the dagger into his eye pushing deep and with such force, they broke out to the back of his skull. His body fell overboard into the sea with the dagger still in his head. Even with one arm bound, she was still lethal.

**_5_ **

As Aries turned around she just narrowly missed a bullet to her face, with it just cutting the right side of her cheek, unfortunately for that marine, they had gotten a bit to close to Aries and she grabbed his throat and ripped his windpipe out.

**_4_ **

She grabbed the bleeding body and used it as a shield to get closer to the others, she got close to 3, she threw the body into one of them and grabbed the other one of them fell to the floor and Aries smashed her barefoot into his chest, crushing everything in the process, all the while she smashed the others head into the mast, completely crushing it.

**_3_ **

**_2_ **

The sound of shouting and gunfire ceased. The remaining marine was on the floor shaking violently, he had blood on his face from the body Aries had thrown at him, he had a petrified look on his face. Aries was hurting all over, she moved her foot across the floor, unable to fully lift it. When she tried her other leg gave out from underneath her and she fell to the floor, coughing violently. Her breathing became heavier, her vision was going, everything seemed to be blurry. The marine quickly grabbed his gun and shot at her, Aries managed to move in time, but it grazed her. He took another too shot but both missed as she moved.

The bullets had gone straight into the explosive barrels behind her, Aries's eyes widened and she up to run.

“Oh shit…”

**_1_ **

Suddenly there was a massive explosion, it threw Aries off the ship with her smashing into some buildings on the other side of the gate.

She lied there in the crumpled building, her body was dead weight to her by this point. She laid there one eye swollen shut, staring into the blue sky filled with smoke and fire, her senses growing dull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the views and like. This story might take sometime to come out, but i appreciate you taking your time reading it ^0^. 
> 
> I apologize again for spelling and grammar!
> 
> Thank you!


	4. Runaway

 

> **_– Present time –_ **
> 
>  

There was a man with light black hair standing in the docks looking at the ship up in flames. He had a very foul expression on his face.

“This _has_ to be her doing!” he clenched his first till they went white.

“SIR!” one of his subordinates shouted.

“What is it!” he snapped.

“Me and Quinn got here before it exploded, and we swore we saw Aries getting thrown off the ship into Erast!” the young man shouted, his clothes were a little dirty and he had blood on his face.

“GET GOING AND BRING HER BACK, I DON’T CARE IF SHE'S DEAD OR HALF DEAD. JUST BRING HER BACK NOW!” he ordered his remaining 5 men to go after her.

_Dammit! it’s been less than 5 minutes since the ship exploded, she wouldn’t have gotten far._

He looked at the ship then back to Erast, he went to a docking office to use the den den mushi.

 

_– In the capital –_

 

Nyx had put the receiver down, she was sat on the end of a big, hot bath naked with her legs in the water.

“Aren’t you feeling weak?” a male voice came from behind her.

Nyx turned to look at the muscular man wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

“hum, a little. But the waters nice” she said as she moved her legs in the water.

“I still don’t understand why people eat devil fruits” he took off the towel and stepped into the water.

Nyx watched him keenly all the while with a smile on her face. “it’s all about power my friend”

Nyx sat there looking at him coming closer to her. he got closer to her and place his hand at each side of her, she still had a smile on her face and moved her legs apart, so he could get closer. As he did Nyx placed her hand under his chin.

“speaking of power”

He looked up at her.

“How does it feel. To have her blood flowing through your veins?” as she said this her eyes became hungry and crazed.

“Heh, it feels amazing. Who knew that there was a power like this”. He clenched his hand in front of him, Nyx looked down and placed her hands on his.

“But, you need to be careful. It’s addictive”.

“Addictive?”

“Ahh, my darling. There's is so much you do not know yet” she spoke sweetly as she kissed him on the lips.

He continued to look at her, she smiled and continued to speak “Once you’ve had a taste for it you’ll want more. It’s like a drug. And like any drug, it’ll kill you if you don’t have it, quite literally.”

He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of a den den mush.

_Badabda Badabda Badabda_

 Nyx looked behind her and leaned back to grab the receiver.

 _click_. “what is it?” she laid back on the warm floor as she spoke.

“Eh, captain. There’s been a problem” he said a little nervously.

There was silence for a moment. “What’s happened?”

“I-it seems Aries managed to get out and in the process, blow up the ship.”

“WHAT!” she shot up pulling on the receiver’s wire.

“how could you let this happen Conan?” he voice seemed to quiet down, becoming less hostile.

“I-I’m sorry sir! But the remaining men are looking for as we speak!”

Nyx sighed. “alright” she seemed calmer.

“S-sir, you don’t seem to be worried”.

“I’m not. Her body shut down on her before, even if it’s been a few days, the relentless beatings she's had, it’ll take _quite_ some time for her to be 100% back to normal… And besides she's still on this island, right?

“Y-yes sir”

“Then she has nowhere to run to” she had a sadistic smile on her face.

“Yes sir!” he put the receiver down.

“What’s wrong Sebastian?”

Sabastian had moved from between her legs and got out of the bath and started to get dried off.

“She's loose”.

“And?”

“We need to get her back”

“We’re on an island. It’s not like she has nowhere to go”

“You're underestimating her a little, aren’t you?” he stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

“No! You saw how she was in Impel Down, hell you held her head as I poured the boiling blood down her throat, you know she's in no condition to go anywhere”

He stood there saying nothing. Nyx patted the floor next to her, telling him to come over. He stood there for a moment and took off his towel and headed back to her. as he did Nyx smile grew even more.

 

 

_**– Meanwhile –** _

 

Nami and Luffy had made it back to the ship, with Sanji and Chopper getting there 5 minutes before them, she then told them to go find Zoro and to make it quick, since they needed to leave.

 They were running through town, as they got closer to the gates, the more the people were panicking, people were trying to put out the fire from the docks, burning wood and debris had been thrown over and started to burn some of the buildings.

“Chopper, can you get his sent?” Sanji shouted to him.

“There’s too many smells, but I think I have his” Chopper ran in the direction he thought he could smell Zoro and Sanji followed him.

– _At the same time_ –

Zoro had managed to let lost down a dead-end alleyway.

“Where the hell have they gone?” he's asked irritatingly

He was about to turn around and leave when he heard muffled sounds. He grabbed his Wado bracing himself for an enemy attack. He looked around the alleyway, it was nearly destroyed, the buildings seemed to be falling down, in one of them there seemed to be a big hole in the roof and side of the wall had come down. Once you go down the alleyway it opens out into a spacious area.

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the hold in the wall, the sounds were coming from there.  Zoro couldn’t see anything, he moved a little closer when suddenly someone came out of the hole.

He stepped back a bit, still holding onto his Wado. The black haired figured looked at him, as she did his eyes widened a bit, as did hers.

“Aries?” “Zoro?” they said in sync.

Aries was holding herself up via the wall, her breathing was raspy at best and she found it hard to keep her eye open.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked with shock in his voice.

“Teh, d-do you…really need…to ask?

She moved awkwardly, slowly pushing herself off the wall, blood dripping from all over her body.

“A-any…. way, nice to…see you again…but - _ha_ \- I need to get...going” she put on foot in front of her and once she put her weight on it, it gave out from underneath her. she fell straight into Zoro. Zoro caught her and gently laid her against the wall.

“There you are you marimo!” Sanji shouted as he went to kick Zoro, but he quickly blocked it with his hand.

“Shut up curly-brow!” Zoro bit back.

Sanji noticed Zoro's chest was covered in blood and then saw Aries's seemingly, lifeless bloody body rested against the wall.

“THE HELL!” he shouted.

Sanji kicked Zoro hard, pushing him back a bit, Zoro blocked it with his swords.

“The hell did you do to her, you fucking, shitty swordsmen!”

“I didn’t do it, you fucking shit cook!”

“Sanji! Don’t just run off like that!” Chopper came in hissing.

Choppers eyes widened as he saw Aries, he ran up to her, reverting into his smaller form.

“What happened!?” Chopper looked at Sanji and Zoro and saw blood on his chest.

“What did you do Zoro?!” Chopper frantically grabbed his bag.

“Like I said to the shitty cook, I didn’t do it! She was already like that when I got here!”

Sanji turned around to face him but stopped what he was going to do when he heard someone speak.

“I’ve found her!” all three of them looked up and saw 2 men looking down at them, one of which was holding a baby den mushi, on the opposite building.

“Bring her back” the menacing male voice replied.

“Yes, Sir!!”

He put the snail away and brought out his sword.

“Hand her over now!”

“Did you do this!” Chopper shouted.

Quin smiled sadistically.

“You should have seen her when we picked her up”. He laughed menacingly

As he said this it pissed Sanji off and shot at him.

“Chopper get her out of here!” Zoro shouted as he pulled out Wado and Kitetsu.

Chopper turned big and gently picked her up and was about to run out of the alleyway when he stopped.

“Where do you think you’re going?” 3 more marines blocked their path.

They lunged at him but Zoro blocked their attacks.

“You’ll have to jump other the wall Chopper!” he shouted.

Chopper turned back and jumped on the boxes and went over the wall, he ended up back on the streets and headed back to the ship.

“Why are the marines hurting an innocent girl?” Sanji hissed.

“Innocent! Are you fucking stupid!” Quin shouted at him.

“Compared to her, the devil himself if an angle” his comrade spat.

They lunged at Sanji, as they did, Sanji did a handstand and swung his legs around, smashing them in their faces. They got thrown off the roof and smashing to a crowd of people.

Sanji looked down and saw Zoro had already taken out the others and was standing back out on the streets.

Sanji jumped down dusting himself off as Zoro put his katanas away.

“HEY, YOU TWO!”

They shot their heads in the direction of the crowd, there was a small group of the island's police looking at the damaged they had done.

“Shit!” they both hissed.

“C’mon, marimo!” Sanji ran off.

“NOT THAT WAY RETARD!”

Zoro hissed as he got in front of Sanji who had a pissed look on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Chopper had managed to get to the ship, he had tried to run as gently as he could but even the slightest movement caused her to moan out in pain.

“Chopper!”

Chopper looked up and saw Luffy smiling at him and while waving his hand. However, as he got closer to the ship that smiles soon dropped.

“Did you manage to fin- who is that?” Nami shockingly asked.

“Luffy, the Marines are after her, I think they did this to her, please she desperately needs medical treatment! Can I bring her on board” Chopper begged.

Luffy looked at him. “Okay,” his face showing a rare form of seriousness. Choppers face lit up and went aboard.

“Zoro and Sanji are coming, they’re just dealing with some of them”.

“Are you sure about this?” Nami asked face full of concern.

“I need to, as a doctor, I can’t let someone suffer like this!”

“I know, but what about when she wakes up? What happens if she tries to kill us or something!”

“Then we deal with it if it comes to that” Luffy casually spoke.

“Robin! I need your help” Chopper shouted as he made his way into the storage room.

“Yes, doctor” the tall elegant woman followed him.

Nami looked at them, then to Luffy who was smiling like an idiot, and she sighed.

“GUYS!” Usopp shouted.

“What’s wrong? Do you see them?” Nami questioned

“Yeah, but they’re being chased by some people!” Usopp cried.

“Is it the marines!”

“No”

Nami looked out to the side and saw that a few of the police and guards were chasing them. Nami could cry, hell she started to.

“Why does this crew have to be full of troublemakers!”

“I’ll get them back,” Luffy said as he got onto his feet.

Luffy stretched his arms back and once Zoro and Sanji were close enough to grab them, threw his arms towards them. As he did the looks on their faces showed how horrified they were, due to what was about to happen, and suddenly Luffy pulled them back, making Zoro smash into the deck, and Sanji going face first into the mast. Luffy was standing there laughing. Sanji kicked him in the head as Zoro pulled his sword out pressing It against his neck.

“I’m sorry”

“Everyone get ready! We’re leaving!

Nami ordered everyone around and they started to set off. Just in time too. A few of the police and guards who could stop in time slipped into the water, they were in danger of drowning due to all the heavy gear they had on, luckily their comrades pulled them out.

The straw hates set off, and behind them was a city filled with destruction that, for once, had nothing to do with.


	5. New beginning's

 

> _**\- Straw Hats Ship -** _

 

Chopper and Robin were attending to Aries, they had managed to stop some of her bleeding, but they still had long to go. Luffy had come down, he had seen her tail and thought it was cool, but Chopper was a little shocked at this.

Chopper opened her eyes to see if they dilated properly, and as the light hit them they turned into a split pupil.

“H-hey Robin?”

“Yes, doctor?”

“Do you know of anyone with eyes like hers?” he asked unsurely.

Robin leaned closer to have a look, and she frowned while thinking.

“What’s up with her eyes?” the straw-hatted kid questioned.

“Well, she has a black sclera’s and amber irises with a split pupil”.

Luffy seemed interested and moved closer to have a look, as he got closer to look, Aries's eyes suddenly turned to look at him. As it did Chopper fell backwards as Aries shot up grabbing Luffy by the neck, taking him off guard.

“Luffy!” Chopper shouted.

Robin used her powers, as she did hands sprouted on Aries trying to hold her down, but Aries threw Luffy in her direction making her lose her focus. Aries staggered on her feet till she saw the hatch leading to the storage room. She made her up there holding onto her right arm.

“Luffy you have to grab her, she has significant blood loss, and if her injuries reopen shell properly die!” the doctor panicked.

Aries burst through the door, scaring Nami who was standing outside the kitchen door. Aries rushed towards the railing, Luffy came out after her and went up from behind her, but Aries turned around giving him a roundhouse, kick sending him crashing through the wooden wall.

“Luffy!” Nami shouted as she ran down.

Chopper ran out with Robin following him, Luffy pulled himself out of the wood and Nami helped him up.

“What’s going on?” Sanji questioned as he wore an apron standing in the doorway of the kitchen, with Usopp poking his head from the side of him.

“Just calm down, we’re trying to help you” Chopper begged.

Chopper slowly walked towards Aries who looked like she was about to collapse.

“Chopper, get back” Nami pleaded.

Chopper held up his hooves as he shakenly stepped closer. Her eyes were full of bloodlust, looking at her eyes scared him to death, but he needed to snap out of it, she needed his help and she needed to calm down before she dies.

He slowly got closer, Aries moved to lunge at him but before anything could happen a blade was pressed against her neck. Aries's half-open eyes traced along the shimmering white blade, stopping at its owner, as she did she gritted her teeth.

“Hey, shitty swordsman!” Sanji barked but it fell on deaf ears.

“You finished?” he had a deep voice.

“Zoro…” her voice barely held any volume, and blood followed. She pressed herself against the railing. Zoro placed Wado back in its sheath.

“I need to treat your wounds”

Aries hated it, she didn’t want his help, but there was no way that her injuries would heal properly, and she was sure as hell that she had an infection. She’d just have to swallow her pride – _stubbornness_ –.

“>TT<” Aries slowly, but reluctantly, pushed herself off the railing. “Fine” she spoke with annoyance and anger in her horsey throat.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> **_– Sometime later –_ **
> 
>  

Sanji had called everyone for dinner. As everyone was eating, and in Luffy's case, messing around stealing food, it was a relaxed atmosphere, however, choppers face looked unnerved.

“How is she Chopper?” Nami's soft voice broke through the noise.

As she asked this the room fell in volume with mostly everyone looking at Chopper.

“Well, she was quite reluctant to sleep. But I think exhaustion and the lack of blood finally took her. Her injuries, however…” Chopper trailed off.

At that point, the room was completely silent.

“I don’t even know where to start” he sighed.

“That bad huh?” Usopp spoke.

“Well her body was practically covered head-to-toe in burses, cuts and other wounds. She has a fractured collarbone, dislocated shoulder, her left shin bone was broken in three various places, she has about 7 broken ribs, 3 of which haven’t healed properly, and thanks to that her left lung was punctured, causing her to have a collapsed lung. She has severe 3-degree burn marks on her back and one coming around her side and going up her chest…that was been pushed into her sternum, causing it to burn that area. I had to remove some of the damaged tissue. There seemed to be evidence of frostbite as well, but it seems to have healed somewhat. Then there’s the infections and a high fever she has, not to mention a concussion, and other internal injuries.” After he said this everyone looked quite shocked.

“There is evidence of older injuries as well. For starters, she has a burn scar on the back of her back, as well as was seems to be a metal prosthetic leg, as well as bones that haven’t healed properly. However…” Chopper trailed off.

“As I examined her further she has some internal injuries that are dire, as I looked in her mouth, most of her mouth and the back of her throat was severely injured, it seems something extremely hot was poured down her throat, and whatever it was, pretty much burned a hole in her stomach and it burned to the outside as well.”

“What!?” Nami's flabbergasted

Everyone, apart from Robin and Chopper, cringed at the thought of that.

“Yes, I asked her how she ended up like this, but she ignored me.” Chopper had a sad tone to his voice as he looked at him unfinished food.

“Geez…h-how is she even alive” Usopp gasped.

The room was silent, that was until Robin spoke.

“There’s something about her appearance that reminds me of something”

“What do you mean?” Nami asked.

“I think it was in a book I read years ago.” Robin trailed off.

Nami gave her a questing look.

“But still, it’s weird, it seems like her injuries have healed somewhat, so I wouldn’t have a clue as to how long she's been like this” Chopper pitched in.

Everyone looked at Chopper, then Luffy broke the small silence.

“Hey Zoro, do you know her?”  he was swinging on his chair while chewing on a piece of bone.

Zoro looked at him and drank some sake before he spoke. “I met her in the east blue, not long after I met Johnny and Yosaku”.

“Do you know anything else about her?” Chopper asked.

There was a pause. “Not really” he took another swig at his mug.

Chopper sighed as he finished his food.

After he had eaten, Chopper made his way back to the room Aries was resting. They had made a makeshift bed that Aries could sleep in, however, once he got there she wasn’t in the bed. He started to panic and as he turned the light on he saw that she was sat in the corner.

Aries looked at him, she had no emotion on her face and Chopper couldn’t tell what she was thinking. All he could tell what that she was completely tired.

“I-I thought you were asleep.”

There was a long pause before she said anything.

“Couldn’t…sleep” her voice cracked.

“I can give you something if you’d like”

Aries looked at him, not saying anything. She slowly, but surely stood up, Chopper moved back a little to give her some room. She limped her way to the makeshift bed, sitting on it, Chopper noticed that the bandage on her shin had blood on it.

“I need to change the bandage on your leg” Chopper went to get some fresh bandages and a sleeping tablet.

Aries sat on the bed, her body was covered in wound dressings, what skin she did have exposed, was bruised, the swollen eyes she sustained had gone down but left a massive black eye, her lip was busted. Her eyes were half open, it took everything she had just to keep them open.

Chopper came back and started to undo the bandaged, once it had come off, there was evidence of a bacterial infection. Once Chopper had finished treating her leg he got rid of the used bandages he came back handing her the tablet and drink.

Aries was looking at the tablet in her hand.

“Nothing will happen, this tablet will just help you get a sleepless night”

“Sleepless night, huh?” Aries laughed.

Aries saw the seriousness in the reindeer’s face. she sighed and placed the tablet in her mouth and some water, she struggled to swallow with her throat still being sore.

She handed the glass back to him. And then laid back in the bed with her hand on her stomach and one knee in the air.

“It should take about 30 minutes to an hour for it to work. However, in the condition you’re in now, I think you might be gone quicker”.

Aries just stared at the ceiling. Chopper was about to leave when he heard Aries asking him a question.

“A what?”

“A mink”

“I don’t know what that is. I'm a fully born reindeer who ate the Hito Hito no Mi.”

Aries looked at him.

“Everyone who I meet are scared of me and called me a monster and seem quite surprised. But you don’t”

“Teh, I’ve seen some weird shit” Aries moved her head back to look up.

Chopper looked at her interestingly.

“Everyone calls you a monster?” Aries said, with a slight sadness in her raspy voice. She returned her head to look at him after she spoke this.

“Y-yeah” choppers facial expression changed to that of sadness.

Aries continued to look at him.

“What does this crew think of you?”

Chopper looked at her, a little shocked.

“Well, when I first met them was when Nami was deathly sick, at first they called me a monster and emergency food” Chopper seemed more irritated at the last part.

“But…Luffy saved my home, and he called me his friend. Accepting me the way I am.” A smile went across Aries's face, surprising her.

Aries saw a warm happy smile spread on his face.

Chopper was looking off to the side of her, remembering that time in Drum kingdom, Aries looked at him curiously. It was like that for a moment before she grunted in pain. Chopper quickly snapped out of it.

“Are you okay?”

“y-yeah”. Aries could feel her eyelids getting heavier. Her instincts were to fight it, but it was a losing battle and before she knew it she was out.

Chopper gave her a once over, bringing the cover up to her shoulders. He left turning the light off.

 

* * *

 

 

**_– Meanwhile, back in Knyra –_ **

 

Nyx had her arms out on the desk with a transponder snail on, her body hung over the desk, she was wearing a light blue button denim shirt that was buttoned up mid-chest, revealing her cleavage a bit, that was tucked into a pair of high waist, dark coloured jeans with a pair of black wedge bootie’s. her dark crimson hair fell up to her elbow, the bangs hung, just on top of her eyebrows, her raspberry eyes, cold as ice, stared off into the distance, fixated.

“What did you say” there was a sharp edge in her voice.

“I…eh… She got away….” The voice sounded petrified to answer her.

“HOW!?!?” her voice echoed throughout the room. Waking Sebastian, who was soundly asleep in the bed.

“My men said that there were 3 others with her when they found her. And one of them took her.”

“what did they look like!?” she continued to shout.

“W-well. one of them said that one was a well-dressed young man with blond hair. The other was a green haired swordsman wearing a green haramaki. The other was a talking/size changing reindeer.”

“A reindeer? A Mink?... And a haramaki...” she thoughtfully mumbled to herself.

“Sir?”

Nyx snapped out of it. “where are your men now?”

“W-well they there in hospital getting their injuries treated to.” 

“Stay where you are, find me another ship…I'm on my way back.” The edge in her voice had gotten sharper before the other could reply she hung up the transponder.

She gave out a loud sigh before throwing the chair in front of her, into a wall, smashing it to pieces. She looked for another chair to throw.

“DAMMIT!” She shouted as she threw another.

“What’s wrong?”

Nyx looked at him, eyes that could burn through him.

“Got away?” he sounded a little sarcastic.

Nyx didn’t reply all she did was growl.

“I told you not to underestimate her”

As he said this Nyx shot her head at him, she gritted her teeth and started to pick up the table she was just resting on. As she did everything feel off, the snail hit the floor, papers following it.

“GET FUCKED!” Nyx threw the table at him. Sebastian’s eyes widened, and he dove to take cover. The table smashed off the back wall crashing onto the bed and the floor. Sebastian looked at the mess she had done and heard the door being nearly ripped off its hinges and she ripped it open.

Sabastian sighed resting his weight on to his arms that were behind him.

Sebastian had gotten into some casual clothes and went to go find Nyx. once he had found her she was waiting outside. Nyx looked at him and waved her hand to him, indicating him to follow her. as he did she led him all the way to the backstreets. She stood in front of a sketchy looking building, waiting for him to catch up, as he did she knocked on the door and a man slid an opening that was on the door, to see out of, open.

He looked at him thoroughly.

“Password”

“Open the door before I kick your arse” she hissed.

“That’s not the password” was all he said.

Nyx walked closer to the door.

“Go get him before I rip the door apart, with you along with it.”

The man stood there and shut the opening.

“What are you waiting for?” Sebastian questioned.

“For what I originally came for” she had her arms crossed over her chest, she had cocked her hip to the side with a pissed off look on her face.

This puzzled him for a moment, he hates it when she doesn’t tell him everything.

He stood there waiting with her until the door was thrown open. There stood a lanky man wearing a white suit, the sleeves rolled up, he had a purple dress shirt underneath, it was buttoned and pulled apart, so you could see his chest. He had scruffy chocolate coloured hair. On his head, he wore a pair of sunglasses.

“Ahh, Nyx! darling”

“Don’t call me that” she still had her arms across her chest and hips coked to the side.

“Is my package ready?”

“Yes, Yes. Come in” he moved out of the way and put his arms to the side, showing for them to go in. as they did he closed the door behind them, the thick steel door echoed throughout the room.

They walked down a long corridor, there were a few rooms at each side, in them were tough looking men, the rooms were filled with weapons, ranging from pocket knives to rocket launchers. But also, in the rooms were a few women, chained and wearing fancy, revealing clothes. The looks on their faces were the look of hopelessness.

Sebastian looked around, he was unsure of why they had come here. They had walked up the creaky stairs, once at the top the area expanded, the places were dimly lightened, there were rooms all over the place.

They all had walked to a room in the centre of the massive room.

“I’ll get one of my men to fetch it.” He clicked his fingers at two tough-looking men standing in the doorway, as they left the lanky man sat down on his chair, putting his arms behind his head and feet on the desk.

“So, Nyx, how much is it worth?”

Nyx looked at him with an exasperated look.

“I'm not giving a price until I see my merchandise.” Arms folded again.

He didn’t say anything, he just gave her a smile.

They stood there for a moment before the door was swung open.

One of the men walked into the spacious room, he yanked onto a chain and a girl with olive coloured, chin length wavy hair, crashed to the floor. She was wearing a collar and handcuffs. She looked up, her face had shown signs of a beaten, she had a black eye and a bruised cheek, as well as a busted lip. The same was with her body, the bruises on her body stood out quite a lot due to her light-coloured skin. Her body was also covered in dirt and blood, her attire looked like it had seen battle.

Once her silver eyes met the raspberry, they widened with terror. The young-looking girl tried to get away, but the man yanked her back in. Nyx walked up to her and kneeled, she placed her hand under the girl’s chin, as she did she flinched. Nyx moved her head roughly, to have a look at the damage of her “merchandise”.

“I'm not paying you for damaged goods Barry” Nyx stood up looking back at him.

“Now now my darling. She maybe small, but she killed a few of my guys. So, some of them just wanted a little payback.”

 “still damaged goods”

“Listen, you better pay me what you said you would.”

One of the men grabbed Nyx’s shoulder, Sabastian stood there, leaning against the wall watching all of this unfold.

Nyx didn’t seem fazed by the strong grip on her shoulder.

“That may be true” Nyx grabbed the mans hand and in a swift motion, she flipped him onto the floor with such force his head went through the wood and she ended up breaking his arm.

“But I'm not in the mood to be fucked around!” her voice was filled with fury her eyes staring down Barry.

The man holding onto the girl’s chain let go and charged at her, Nyx spun around, and roundhouse kicked him sending him through two rooms.

The chained girl tried to run, but she collapsed to the floor. Sebastian grabbed her chains and held them tight. Nyx walked up to Barry, who was now pressed against the wall hands out in a surrendering possession.

Nyx placed her hand on the desk and pushed the table aside, the force of it make it brake the other wall.

She made her way closer to him.

Nyx placed the palm of her hand next to the 6’2” skinny, muscle-less man’s head, she was 5'8½", slim but athletic built young woman, and he looked completely terrified of her.

“Now listen here” she brought her face closer to his, looking up at him a little. “I'm not going to pay a damn thing to you. Not for damaged goods.” She spoke menacingly.

Berry had sweat dripping down his face. “F-fine!”

As he said this a smile went across her lips.

Nyx stepped back and made her way to the changed girl. She picked her up by the collar, her feet barely touching the floor, gasping for air.

Nyx looked at her with a smile on her face. “Now don’t be like that, you're going to help me”

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “L-like I’d help…a sadistic bastard… like you!”

Nyx smiled and slammed her into the floor, knocking her out. But before she fell completely under Nyx spoke to her. “Who said you had a choice.” then her body fell still.

Nyx went to pick the girl up, but her hands hit the hands cuffs, as they did she suddenly felt drained and she fell to one knee.

“Shit…ugh. Sebastian pick her up” Nyx moved back a little to give him some room, while she placed her hand on her head.

“You all right?” he placed the girl over his left shoulder while looking down at Nyx.

“Stupid seastone” she stood up.

“C’mon” Nyx walked out of the door with Sebastian following her.

Barry, still pressed against the wall, looked around the room, at the damage that she had caused.

“So that’s what its like to be one of them” he mumbled.

Outside they started to walk back to the Marine base. Once they were there Nyx had placed the unconscious girl in a cell and went back to the room to get her stuff together, when suddenly she stopped.

_Badabda Badabda Badabda_

Nyx turned her attention to the transponder snail that was still on the floor.

Click.

“Nyx here”

“Nyx? great!” the voice was that of a young girl. She sounded panicky.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Rupert”

As the girl said this Nyx narrowed his eyes.

“has it started?”

“Y-yeah, its really bad this time”

“Is there anything left?”

“Not enough to sustain him”

“Dammit” Nyx bowed her head making it rest on the back of her hand that was holding the receiver.

There was a long pause.

“Nyx?”

“How long do you think he has?”

“I'm not really sure. But it won’t be that long.”

There was another pause.

“If he's going, you won’t have, long will you?” the girl asked sadly.

“No, I’ll be fine. I've already had some.”

“What?”

“I had her but-” Nyx was cut off.

“GREAT!” just bring her”

“Listen, Liz”

“What?”

Nyx sighed “She's gone”

“WHAT!? YOU SAID YOU HAD HER!”

“I know what I said! She woke up quicker than I expected”

“You know once he dies he won’t be able to come back afterwards!”

“I know, I've got a plan to get her back”

“It better be a good plan, you know she isn't that stupid. She’ll see you coming a mile off and be gone.”

“She won’t see me”

“Just make it quick. I have him stabilized for now, but I don’t know how long it'll last.”

After that, she hung up.

“Fuck”


	6. Getting To Know You

Something was pushing down on her chest, whatever it was, kept at it, it was hurting her. She then felt something press on her lips and air being blown down her throat. There was shouting, sounded like the doctor, he sounded panicky. There were another 3 voices, one of a woman. She sounded young, must be the red head. She could hear an older males voice, that voice sounded so familiar, just thinking about it irritated her. Then she heard the voice of a boy and the name _Luffy_  following it.

Aries swore she had heard that name before. That’s what the red head called the kid she kicked wasn’t it?

She couldn’t breathe, why was It hard to breath?

She felt her chest being pressed again. Every time they did her ribs hurt, the pressure was harder then she felt her lips being pressed again.

__They're doing CPR on me?... my heart must have stopped…fuck…not again. Twice in the space of a week nearly. This can’t be good. Even if I am part of – well half – of that race, my body can’t take the stress. My body’s trying to repair itself and I go and kick the bucket! My healing was fucked to begin with. At the rate it’ll stop working…._ _

Everything around her started to go quiet, she could hear the doctors voice, it seemed calmer, the repeated pressure on her chest stopped. Everything seemed calmer. Her senses were getting number, and eventually she fell into the darkness.

 

__Flowers?_ _

What struck her first was the smell of flowers, then it was feeling of gentle of hands on her aching body. However, the pain seemed less, it seemed much easier to breath.

she could hear quiet humming. The voice seemed older, it must be the older woman’s, right?

Aries didn’t know why, but being in the older woman’s presence, she felt somewhat, at ease? Aries couldn’t put her figure on it, but she felt nice and relaxed, it was something Aries has long since craved for. The way the woman’s hands danced across her skin, such gentleness, such care. Every time the woman’s hands touched her skin, Aries couldn’t help but remember when she was a kid. She must be having a significant effect on her metal state, as she __never__  wants to remember being a kid.

That time long and since passed.

But deep down, the nagging feeling kept telling her of what she was missing, the woman didn’t even know who she was, and yet… she was taking great care of her like she was her own.

Her hands were cleaning her body, the water was nice and warm, it made her quite drowsy.

__God, I must be far gone to be feeling shit like that. But still…_ _

Aires didn’t even realise that she fell back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The room was quiet, Aries body felt much lighter. She slowly opened her eyes. As they did it was quite blurry, it took a moment or two for them to adjust.

Aries slowly turned her head to the side, she grunted in the process, with her eyes looking around the empty room. Aries slowly began to sit up, her body ached, her bones creaking, her body felt stiff overall. She sat there breathing a little heavy. Her body was sweaty, she pulled the covers off and placed her feet over the edge of the bed. That’s when she saw that she was wearing different clothes. She was wearing a pair of pajamas, a button long sleeved top and long bottoms.

Aires took a moment to catch her breath, she didn’t even hear someone coming down the stars.

“Ahh, you’re up!” Aries looked at the reindeer that had walked up to her.

“You still look quite tired, maybe you should rest a bit more

“No, it fine. My body’s going stiff. I need to move”.

Aries rested her elbows on her knees and placed her head into her hands.

“God…how long have I been out for?”

“Nearly a week”

As he said this Aries nearly fell of the bed. He was about to help her, but she waved him off.

Aries slowly stood up, she was a little wobbly on her feet, but her body felt more…better. It didn’t hurt as much as before.

“you should still be careful tho.” The doctor spoke to her.

Aries looked at him, she felt clammy and the clothes had started to stick to her, it was horrible. She started to unbutton her shirt.

“What’er you doing Aries?”

“I'm sweaty, I need a shower”

“There’s a shower above us you can get undressed in there”

Aries stood there she had already unbuttoned the top and it hung openly on her. Her torso was till covered in bandages.

Aries slowly followed the doctor up into the storage room, and to the bathroom.

“I’ll ask Nami to see if she has anything to give you” the doctor smiled as he handed her some towels.

“After you’ve had a shower, I’ll need to dress some of your injures, but I'm happy with leaving some of your injures undressed, just to get some air to them”

Aries looked at him and made her way into the bathroom.

“thanks” she muttered.

“I’m not happy that you thanked me you bastard!” however his body language really did give away his true feelings.

And with that he left her. Aries closed the door and turned on the shower. She stripped off, taking off her bandages, slowly. She manged to get some of them. The ones she couldn’t reach luckily came off in the shower, once they did come off she put them in the bin. It felt nice having the water dance along her broken body.

Aries let out a sigh of relive as she stood under the shower head, water beating down on her face.

Chopper walked out of the storage room and headed to the kitchen. Everyone had finished their food and Sanji started to clear everything away.

“Where’d you go Chopper?” the captain asked while swinging on the chair.

“I went to check on Aries”

“How is she?

“She's up and just in the shower. Nami is there any cloths Aries could borrow please”

“Sure. I’ll go get some” Nami stood up with her plate in her hands.

“Ahh, allow me Nami-swan~” Sanji came over and took the plate from her hands.

“Thank you Sanji-kun” she smiled.

Sanji’s eyes were full of hearts. He then happily danced to Robin and took her finished plate.

“Thank you cook-san.” she smiled sweetly.

“My pleasure” he said lovingly.

He went to the sink and placed them in. Nami had walked of the kitchen and to her room.

“Hey, what about our plates?” Usopp spoke.

“You’ve got legs!” Sanji hissed.

“That’s not fair!” Usopp cried.

Nami had made her way into the storage room, she could hear Aries in the shower, she made her way down into her room. Nami looked for the clothes she had gotten, she picked up a loses fitting jumper-style top, as well as some lose fitting shorts, these would be comfortable for her and some clean underwear.

Nami sat there looking around the room, remembering the first night she had stayed.

**_**_Nami could hear noises coming from her and Robin's room. She ran down to find Luffy and Chopper trying to keep Aires down. It looked like they were struggling to keep her down._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _what’s wrong Chopper?!”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _I need you and Luffy to keep her down.”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _She just tried attacking Chopper” Luffy told her._**_**

**_**_Chopper had bounded her arms and legs, but she had broken through them. Nami ran over to help Luffy. Aries began to thrash her arms and legs about, Nami ended up getting knocked over, hitting the ground hard, with her leg connected to the table._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Nami!” Chopper shouted._**_**

“ ** _ ** _What’s going on?” Zoro walked down the stairs, who had clearly been sleeping._**_**

**_**_Chopper went to Nami and helped her up._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Zoro I need you to help Luffy!”_**_**

**_**_Luffy pressed down on her shoulders, while Zoro held down her legs. Zoro held on her ankles as hard as he could muster up, he was sure that there might be bruises afterwards. Luffy tried his best not to hurt her, but it was hard not to use his full strength on her, he had felt how strong she was when she kicked him. Her wounds had ripped open and started to bleed, which made things worse. Luffy pressed down on her shoulders harder, just to try and keep her still, but in doing so, he had felt her shoulder pop out. He cringed a little at the feel of it._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _I think her shoulders dislocated again”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _I’ll just have to pop it back once she's stable.” Chopper breathed._**_**

**_**_He had begun to get her something to try and stabilize her. But Aries's body began to slow in movement, her body eventually stop altogether._ ** _ **

**_**_Nami went up to check her breathing._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Sh_**_** ** _ ** _e_**_** ** _ ** _isnt breathing” she vocalized._**_**

“ ** _ ** _Nami I need you to CPR on her!”_**_**

**_**_Chopper had started to get all his tools he was going to need. Nami didn’t hesitate and started pressing down on her chest. Eventually Aries began to breath, struggling, but she was still getting oxygen._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _She’s gone into septic shock, I need to operate on her. Nami I’ll need your help”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _okay”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _What’s do you want us to do?” Luffy asked._**_**

“ ** _ ** _I need some blood from the crew.”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _all of us?” Nami asked._**_**

“ ** _ ** _Yes. Once we’ve stabilised her I need to figure out what blood type she has”._**_**

“ ** _ ** _This space isn't ideal, but it’ll have to do” Chopper spoke._**_**

**_**_Nami and Chopper began to get ready to operate._ ** _ **

 

> – **_**_Many hours later –_**_**

**_**_Nami and Chopper had finished, and Chopper had put a mask on her mouth to help her breath, she had quite a few IVs in, some of the IVs included the XF blood_ ** _ ** **_**_type_ ** _ ** **_**_._ ** _ **

**_**_Nami had made her way to the kitchen to get a drink, there she saw Robin reading a book while Sanji was cleaning up the kitchen._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Ahh Nami-swan~” Sanji swooned._**_**

“ ** _ ** _Sanji-kun” Nami smiled._**_**

“ ** _ ** _H_**_** ** _ ** _ow_**_** ** _ ** _did you get that bruise!”_**_**

**_**_Nami looked at her leg, there was a big purple bruise that hurt a little when she walked._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _I got it when I was trying to keep Aries down, I ended up on the floor”. Nami gave a weak smile._**_**

“ ** _ ** _I can make your leg feel better my darling!” Sanji jumped over, but Nami had walked away so he crashed to the floor._**_**

“ ** _ ** _I’ll be fine” Nami sat down opposite Robin he gave her a smile._**_**

“ _ _ **I was quite surprised at how it took Zoro and Luffy to hold her down.”**__

“ ** _ ** _Really?” Robin asked._**_**

“ ** _ ** _Yeah, anyway Robin”_**_**

**_**_Rabin looked up from her book, and Sanji had brought Nami a nice refreshing drink._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Thank you Sanji-kun. You said that she reminded you of something.”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _Ahh that.” Robin closed her book._**_**

“ ** _ ** _It was many years ago, but I was reading a book on different species_**_** ** _ ** _. The description it gave, matches her a bit. But if I remember correctly, it said that_**_** ** _ ** _the_**_** ** _ ** _race went extinct hundreds of years ago.”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _Really? Is there anything else you remember?” Nami asked as she took a sip from her drink._**_**

“ ** _ ** _I'm afraid not, there was only half a page on them. It was a very old book some of the writing had faded, but what words I did make out was that they were from the new world and some kind of warrior type of race.”_**_**

**_**_Nami looked on, thinking._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _Thank you”_**_**

**_**_Robin smiled and picked her book back up, the room was quiet, part from the soft humming of Sanji as he cleaned away his kitchen utensils._ ** _ **

 

Nami looked at the bed Aries had been sleeping in, she saw that there was dry blood. Nami placed the clothes down on the table and took the sheets off, placing them in a pile for dirty clothes. Nami then made her way upstairs, and knocked on the door.

 

* * *

 

  

Aries was standing in the bath room, looking at herself in the mirror. Now that all the dirt, blood and sweat was gone, she could finally look at herself.

“Geez…haven’t really takin noticed at what I look like it years…” she spoke softly, but there was evidence of sadness mixed in.

Aries had wrapped a towel around her body and dried off her hair, her arms ached, especially her right shoulder, once she had finished she quickly brushed through it with her figures. She had tied her shoulder length black, slight messy, hair up into a messy bun. She then slowly traced her finger across a thin-ish scar going across the middle of her nose. Stopping just in line with her cornea.

The bruising on her face had faded somewhat, all that was left was brown markings, around her left eye and cheek bone, she still had slight cuts on her face as well, but they weren’t that notable.

__Man, I look like shit… Fuck when was the last time I had a decent sleep._ _

Aries turned the tap on and Luke warm water came out, she cupped her hands and splashed the water on her face. She did this another two times before leaving her hands on her face for a moment, then slowly sliding them down her face. Then turned the tap off.

The more she looked at herself in the mirror the more she hated it. She stepped back a little, she took the towel off and placed it on the sink. She held up her breast a bit and turned to the side. She had a slim but curvy figure, that was riddle it countless, but yet, somewhat faded scars, scars that irritated her just looking at them.

“I’ve definitely lost weight. I thought I was getting better…” She sighed.

She had always been slim, but over the years it had gotten out of hand.

She placed a hand on her bruised side, slowly brushing her figures down her ribs, she was able to see her rib cage faintly. Her collar bones were quite detailed, being able to see a very faint outline of bone on her sternum.

Aries looked at the red mark that was on her chest, she placed her index figure on the sealed-up hole, and slowly traced it down her chest, between her breast and off on her left side.

She then sighed.

Her body had gotten accustomed to hardy having any food, even when she could eat, she usually ate a lot, nearly,  _and_ succeeding in putting herself in a food coma from time to time. Also making her quite sick, which they, or Aries herself didn’t particularly like.

Her genetic make-up means that she has a strong metabolism. Which you could imagine, hardly eating and a strong metabolism, is a very bad combination. She had lost counts on how many times she had collapsed. Over the years they became more generous with the food, but she was still training and exercising a lot, – _ _way too much to be called healthy__ – and a metabolism that burnt fast…it still didn’t help much.

She tried to change, but it’s hard changing what you’ve been __taught__  to know. However over the last 10 or so years, she seems to have gotten a hold of it a little better.

She's glutinous, hell she would admit that, she liked to eat…a lot. But it still didn’t change the fact that she hardly put on weight. She tried not to train and exercise a helluva lot – _ _more than she had to really__ –, it took sometime, but she managed to tone it down a bit. However, despite all that she did have faint evidence of muscles on her body.

She did have a tough time trying to stop her __excessive__ , amount of exercise. She managed to tone it down from what it use to be, but sometimes it seems that nothing really worked. She had to train, it made everything feel…normal? It was subconsciously?, muscle memory? Call it what you will.

She couldn’t stop fully. She had to, it was who she was…right?

**_**_Long nights of excruciating training. Fighting. No rest, no food, and no water. She's been doing this for days on end._ ** _ **

**_**_Her limb body had collapsed on the floor, she tried to get up, but her legs gave out from underneath her. Without warning someone grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her up. She grabbed the hands trying to hold herself up a bit so there isn't so much weight on her hair._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _What do you think you’re doing?”_**_**

“ ** _ ** _Who said you could rest?”_**_**

**_**_She opened her mouth, but nothing came out_ ** _ **

**_**_He threw her to the floor, hard. As she collided with the floor her head connect to the stone, bouncing a bit and she lied there, slowly trying to get back up, blood dripping down from her head and down her nose._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _You’re a warrior! you were born to do this!_**_**

**_**_Before she could get up, she was dragged across the floor by her leg. He had gripped her quite hard around the ankle that she knew it would leave a bruise._ ** _ **

**_**_They got closer to a small hole in the floor her eyes were ever growing wider. She used what little energy she had left to try and get free._ ** _ **

**_**_She screamed and beg but he did not acknowledge her. She looked at his face and saw a sadistic smile and crazed eyes._ ** _ **

**_**_He threw her down the hole, and stood there, looking down at her._ ** _ **

“ ** _ ** _I’ll leave you here until you’re ready to start acting like the warrior that you are, then I’ll come and get you. But until then, enjoy your time.” He spoke with pleasure in his voice._**_**

**_**_He then slammed the lid down and all that was left was darkness._ ** _ **

__**she banged on the door, trying to get his attention, she started to breath heavy, panicking. She continued to bang frantically her breathing continued to become heavy.**_ _

“ ** _ ** _Please let me out, I promise I’ll be good, I promise that I’ll do my best! Please_**_** _ _ **Dominus**!... __ ** _ ** _Master!” she pleaded_**_**

 

She was just starting off into space with an irritated look on her face, when suddenly a knock came at the door. Aries snapped her head around, her hand subconsciously looking for something to arm herself with.

“Aries, its Nami” she spoke softly.

Aries sighed, remembering that she was on the straw hates ship. She opened the door and Nami stood there with some clothes for her.

Nami was taken back a little by what she saw.

“You might want to cover yourself up, it’s pretty cold. And you don’t want the boy to see you like that do you? ” Nami had a hint of playfulness in her voice

Aries looked at her weirdly, she looked down and turned around to grab the towel. As she did Nami noticed something on left side of her neck, it was small, she couldn’t make out what it was but there was definitely something there. She wanted to say something but kept her mouth shut.

 _ _Chopper or Robin never mentioned__ _ _anything on her neck…__ Nami thought.


	7. Getting To Know You P2

“It’s just a body”

When she said this Nami looked at her weirdly.

Aries turned back around to face her while pressing the towel to her chest.

Nami handed them to her and she put them on the sink. Aries took the towel off and Nami took it to put in the dirty washing pile, once she had come back she saw Aries putting her top on.

She saw her standing with her back towards her it was the first time Nami had seen her injured back without any blood or dirt on. Although most of it had cleared up, there was still evidence of the trauma she had endured.

Nami's eyes scanned her back, the thing that drew her attention first was the big-ish burn scar on the back of her right shoulder blade. Nami then saw the new burn marks, she had a small burn line on the back of her neck on the left side, there was another on going down straight down her left shoulder blade, a smaller one at the side of that going diagonally. 2 more smaller one’s underneath them. She had a longish one going diagonally across her lower back, across the spine, and one doing straight down above it on the back of her ribs on the right side, there was another on the side of her right bum cheek. Then Nami saw the one on the right side, the one that went under her breast up to her chest.

Nami looked a little unnerved at her injures and wondered how she manged to get them. Aries stood straight up, her back arched a bit as she stretched, while putting the top on. Nami could see her ribs a bit, her shoulder blades moved under her sink as she put the top on. As she turned around while pulling the top down. Aries grabbed some underwear, putting them on and then grabbed the shorts. Her muscles moved under her bruised infused light tan skin as she pulled the shorts up.

It was light black in colour and was a baggy styled top. She liked it cos you couldn’t tell if she was wearing a bar or not. Not that she was bothered but it could be awkward moving about without one on. The top hung off her left shoulder a bit. She put the light grey, loose shorts on and stood there staring at the floor, as she had her hands on the strings she just tied, luckily her black tail could rest on the outside of the shorts, it was somewhat, comfortable.

_Man, I really need to put weight back on._

Aries pouted a little to herself but she started to cough again, she had coughed up a little blood. Nami seemed a little panicked but Aries waved her off. Aries rinsed her mouth out but could still taste blood. Aries didn’t notice that Nami had left, she came back a minute later.

Aries just started as the sink, completely out of it, however she quickly snapped out of it when she heard Nami speaking.

“we stopped off at a nearby island a few days ago and I some stuff for you”.

Nami had handed her a plain white toothbrush. “this is yours we’ve been using it on you, I’d thought you mind want to use it to get rid of the test of blood from your mouth.

“thanks” Nami had taken the towel she dried her hair and the pajamas she had used and took them to be put in the washing pile.

Once she came back Aries had finished brushing her teeth.

“Sanji’s done something to eat for you”

This peaked Aries's interest.

When the red-head spoke, she had kindness in her voice, but Aries noticed that she was slightly unsure of her.

Good. She liked it that way.

But still, it’s not like Aries could blame her, she did end up on their ship, in a prisoner’s outfit and covered head-to-toe in blood and god knows what else.

“Thanks” Aries spoke, her throat still quite sore.

Nami smiled a little and walked out of the bathroom with Aries slowly following her.

Aries had made her way out to the deck, she had her left arm across her stomach holding onto her ribs, she had a slight limp to her as she walked.

As she got outside she saw that the captain was fishing with the long nose kid. Aries hadn’t really taken noticed of their names, well not that she was awake long enough to know them. Besides there was really no point, she didn’t plan on staying here. The dark-haired woman, or what Aries called her, __Hands__ , was on the front of the ship, reading a book and drinking some coffee, Nami walked off to go talk to her.

Aries was about to go to the kitchen when the doctor had seen her walk out and came up to her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked while looking up at her.

There was a short pause before Aries spoke. “better…thank you” she said reluctantly.

“I’m not happy that you thanked me you bastard” again, he was crap at hiding his true feelings.

“I need to patch you back up, it’ll only take a moment” Chopper went back into the storage room with Aires irritatingly following him.

“Hey Robin?”

Nami stood there looking out to see when the older woman looked up to her from her book.

“yes, Navigator-san?”

Nami looked down at her.

“you or Chopper never mentioned anything on the side of Aries's neck”

“you saw it?”

“yeah…what is it? Its small but she placed her hand back over it so I couldn’t see it fully.”

“She said it was something to do with her family. However, she seemed to have wanted it to be kept quiet.”

Nami looked at her for a second and then looked back out to sea. Robin however went back to reading her book.

* * *

 

 

Aries sat down on a box, she was still breathing a little heavy, she waited there till the reindeer came back.

Chopper had finished patching all of her external injures, Chopper asked to see how her mouth, once she opened he was still surprised by how her canines are a but more sharper than that of a humans. Chopper looked past this and did that best he could to look at her throat. As he did he was taken back, the damage in her mouth and throat had healed somewhat faster from how it was when she first came.

He stepped away packing everything away. He was a little nervous to ask her anything.

“Is there something you want to know?” Aries spoke with no emotion.

Chopper was a little apprehensive, he wanted to ask her loads of questions, but just asking one or two seemed to irritate her.

“W-well, I just find it quite surprising and interesting, that your injures seem to be healing quick.”

There was along pause before any of them spoke.

“Its my genetic make-up, I guess” Aries shrugged.

“genetic...make-up?”

“yeah” she with an edge in her voice.

Chopper wanted to ask more questions, but he could tell she seemed to be a little irritated.

Once Chopper had finished he told her to be careful not to strain herself. Aries thanked him again and headed outside. Chopper went to get rid of the bandages.

Aries began to walk to the stairs when she saw Zoro asleep with his swords next to him. She looked at him for a second or so, she put her hand on the right side of her neck, feeling the scar running from her collar bone up behind her ear.

“>TT<” Aries turned away and made her way up stairs.

Even before she got to the door she could smell the food, it made her stomach growl even more.

 _God, I’m starving, literally._ She thought.

Once inside the Sanji was cooking away, he shot his head towards the door with a pissed off expression.

“Luffy I told yo-” Sanji stopped what he was saying once he saw it was Aries.

“Ahh my darling Aries!” he practically jumped over.

He kissed the back of her hand.

Aries looked a little taken back, but a small smile went across her face.

She could work with this.

“heh, I'm sorry I don’t know your name” Aries spoke sweetly

“My name’s Sanji! But you can call me your knight in shining armour!” he proclaimed.

“heh” she replied a little awkwardly.

“I’ll get your meal ready to you in no time!” he walked her to the table all the while holding her hand, as she sat down he pushed the chair in for her.

Sanji went back to the food and danced over to her. He had placed a bowl of soup on the table with a nice cool drink.

“Some nice soup for you my love, its full of the nutrients and proteins that you’ll need. After having nothing to eat in some time, Its best to start off with light foods so you don’t make yourself sick.” He gave her a generous warm smile.

This had taken Aries back a little. He sounded like he knew what her body was going through. Well he is a cook. But the way he sounded made Aires wonder… What’s his story?

“And it'll help with how your throat is at the moment” he added.

Aires looked at the food, and she had to admit even if it was soup, it looked delicious, the smell was assaulting her senses, she couldn’t think of anything else. Aries kept looking at the food, she wanted it so bad, but she didn’t like eating with someone else in the room, in case they took it away. Looking at him tho, he didn’t seem to the kind of person, but she, subconsciously, couldn’t take the chance.

She looked at the food and then back at him, after a moment he had seemed to get the message.

“If you need anything Ari-chan, just call and I’ll be right here!~”.

Aries watched him leave, she turned her back to the door and brought her bowl to her mouth. She sniffed the bowl seeing if there was anything in it, however she couldn’t smell anything.

She placed the bowl on her busted lip and as soon as it touched her lounge, an electric pules went through her entire body. Words could not describe how it tasted, but she knew it was the best thing she ever had. She didn’t even notice that her tail was moving a little and quiet, pleasant nose came from her aching throat as she ate the food.

Once she had finished she got up and placed the plate in the sink. She stood back and looked around the room. Suddenly she could hear the red-heads voice. Aries walked to the door and looked out of the window. She saw the red-head scolding the captain and the long nose.

“He's the captain, right? What captain lets the crew talk to him like that” she pondered.

However, the captain didn’t seem bothered as after she had finished he went back to messing around with the long nose again. Aries turned away from the door.

* * *

 

 

Sanji had come back after 10 minutes and saw Aries and Robin sitting at the table, Aires was drinking her drink through the straw as Robin was reading through the same book.

“How was the food” Sanji asked with a smile

“The best I've ever had”

“Thank you very much Ari-chan” he put his hand on the back of his head as he smiled.

He walked up to the sink and as he did Luffy had burst through the door with chopper following him.

“Saanjiii! Is it dinner time yet!” Luffy shouted.

“No moron you just had dinner!”

“but I'm huuunnggrrry!!” Luffy whined.

“As I've said to you, we'ere running out. And you’ve already eaten!”

As they continued to bitch Chopper walked up to Aries.

“Is everything all right with swallowing?”

Aries looked at him and nodded her head as she went back to slowly drinking her drink.

Aries has finished her drink, she rested her elbow on the table and looked at Luffy.

“So you’re the __capitānea”__ she spoke with a slight accent.

Everyone in the room looked a bit confused, Robin a little intrigued.

“Heh, sorry, __Captain”__ Aries spoke a little awkwardly.

“Eh, yeah. The names Monkey D. Luffy” the kid grinned.

“Monkey D. Luffy, huh…?”

“I think Robin and Usopp are the only one of us who you haven't met, well conscious anyway.” Chopper chipped in.

Aries looked at the reindeer. And cocked her head a little.

She then looked across the table to the raven-haired woman who had gone back to reading her book.

Luffy, meanwhile, was looking at her. His eyes drifted to her tail that was hanging off the chair and resting stilly on the floor. Aries noticed him looking from the corner of her eye.

“If you keep staring I'm going to rip your eyes out” Aries hissed annoyingly.

Before anyone could say anything Luffy spoke.

“What are you?” Luffy blurted out.

“Don’t be rude jackass” Sanji hit him on the head with his foot. But this didn’t seem faze him.

Aries looked at him, there was short pause.

“>TT<” Aries closed her eyes and rubbed her head. She looked apprehensive to say anything, but the boy wouldn’t quite staring at her.

Aries sighed. “I'm a half-breed”

This peaked everyone’s interest.

“Really!” Luffy shouted.

“So, you’re a half human?” Chopper asked.

“Human? No”

“Huh?!” Chopper gasped.

Robin was listing keenly, she had closed her book and watched the conversation unfold.

“But you look human, well part from the tail.” Luffy butted in.

“Just because I look human doesn’t mean I am one” Aries hissed.

There was a short pause before anyone spoke.

“Can you poo?” he asked with a smile

This question had taken her back quite a bit.

 _ _This kid right in the head?__  She thought worryingly.

“Don’t ask those kinda questions!” Sanji hissed.

“Of-” Aires was cut off.

“DON’T ANSWER HIM!” Sanji cried.

Luffy just started to laugh.

“So, you are part of that race?”

Everyone turned their head towards Robin.

Aries seemed a little shocked.

 _ _Someone actually knows about my race, the only other person who knew is Rupert…__ Aries mused.

Aries seemed a little shocked at this.

“So, you’ve heard of them?”

“A little. But there wasn’t much. What it did tell me was that, there a warrior race and that they went extinct hundreds of years ago.”

“Teh, sounds like’em”

“I'm confused” Luffy cocked him head.

“so am I” Chopper chimed in.

“Danos” Aries sighed.

“Danos?”

Aries opened her mouth to say something but decided not to. She had a conflicted look on her face.

“What’s wrong? Luffy asked.

“Nothing, just forget it” she gave a weak smile.

They just looked at her as she looked at her hands.


	8. An Island Full Of Goats And A Old Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the views and that! 
> 
> Honestly these small arcs aren't really my fave, but i wanted to introduce Aries before the Skypiea arc, but I wanted a few chapters with her interacting with the crew.  
> I will try and make these chapters quick.  
> I appreciate the patience >0<

“Anyway” Aries tried to chance the convention. “You’re a pirate right?”

“Yep! And not just any pirate, I’m gonna be the pirate who finds the One Piece and become the pirate king!” the boys smile reached from ear to ear.

“Pirate king?” Aries looked a little dumbfounded. “Whats that?”

As she said this everyone looked at her a little weirdly. Aries could feel her face starting to go red a little.

“W-what?” she asked irrantly.

“You’ve never heard of the Pirate king?” Luffy asked.

Aries was a little apprehensive of whether to answer him or not, given the way they looked at her a moment ago.

“N-no…”

“How could you have not of heard of the pirate king?” Chopper asked.

This questioned took her by surprise. “Uh…” Aries shrugged awkwardly.

“To be Pirate King is to have exciting adventures and to be the freest person in the world!” the straw-hatted kid jumped up with a massive grin, the look in his eyes was that of happiness.

“Freedom and adventures?…huh” Aries pondered.

“Yep!”

“T-eh, sounds fun” Aries genuinely smiled.

After a short pause Aries spoke up again “Well I wont be here long anyway”

“Huh? Why not?” Luffy cocked his head.

Aries looked at him strangely. “Well I've got places I want to be”

“Like where?”

“Your persistent aren't yeah kid”

Aires sighed. “Well mostly, Id like to get back home…”

“Where do you live?” Chopper probed.

“My homeland is located in the New World”

“Really?!” Luffy shouted

“...Yeah”

“We’re heading to the New Word.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, after all, One Piece is located in the New World!”

“One Piece?”

“You don’t know what One Piece either?” Chopper gasped.

“Haven't really been out much” Aries rubbed the side of her head annoyingly.

“One Piece is the greatest treasure!  Once you find that then that's when you become the King of the Pirates!” 

Aries just looked at him, his face was alit with joy as he talked about it.

“Hey, why don’t you join my crew?” Luffy smiled.

“Huh? No way”

“Why not?”

“First of all, you don’t even know me. Your asking a complete stranger to be a member of your crew. You don’t know what I’ll do once I’ve gotten my full strength back, I could kill you all and take whatever you have. Secondly, I don’t particularly fancy joining anything just yet, I’ve finally gotten out and I just want to do my own thing…It’ll be nice to have adventures but that least concerning thing on my mind right now” she explained.

As she said this Chopper looked a little unnerved.

“You wont do that!” Luffy laughed.

“Really? And what makes you say that?” Aries rested her elbow on the table and placed her head on her hand.

“Your not a bad person, I can tell that much” That same smile spread across his face again.

“Uh…?” he had left Aries completely dumbstruck

“Your unbearably naive” she groaned.

“Shishishishi”

Sanji and Chopper just sighed while Robin let out a slight giggle.

“If you join us you can come on the adventures we have!”

Aries sighed heavily, and there was a short pause.

“I don’t want you to go anywhere just yet, your injures still need to be treated for, I cant just let you go. Not until I'm satisfied." Chopper protested.

“Then its decided! Your part of my crew!” Luffy jumped up and headed outside.

“H-hey wait!” Aries shouted with her arm reached out in front of her. She was about to get up when she sat back down sighing loudly, while placing her face in the palm of her hand.

“Does he just hear what he wants to hear?” she exhaled.

“Unfortunately” Sanji grumbled.

Aries sat there with her face in her hand, she could feel a smile form on her face. She didn’t know if it was a good thing of a bad thing. Only time would tell.

 

After a while Sanji, Luffy and Chopper had left the kitchen, leaving Robin and Aries drinking some coffee in silence. Aries was just sat there looking at her coffee, she had a lot of thought's drifting through her head, she was completely out of it that she didn’t notice Robin getting up and placing her cup in the sink and washing it, then making her way to the door.

“Y’know you cant always trust what you read”

Robin turned around to look at Aries who was still looking at her drink.

“How’s that?” Robin questioned.

There was a long pause.

“its not that they didn’t go extinct, to be exact…its just…its just that their numbers were cut in half quite quickly. So to speak.”

Robin tunred to fully face her. “How?” Robin leaned on the kitchens side.

Aries sighed, she got up and went to the sink and cleaned her cup out, then made her way to the door. She stood in the doorway, facing outwards with Robin pressed against the side looking at her.

“It was a… Peace treading” Aires looked at her with no emotion. Then made her way out of the doorway, heading to the lower deck.

“Peace treading?” Robin spoke to herself.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

> __-The Next Day -_ _
> 
>  

Nami hated this…she hated how they weren't doing jack-shit.

“C’mon! Do something or there going to blow us outta the water!” Nami shouted to the crew as she turned away from the 3 marine ships that were following them.

However the crew didn’t seem too bothered, Usopp was sat on the side fishing as Luffy and Chopper was hanging over the railing. Robin was reading  at her little table, while Zoro was cleaning his sword and Aries was resting against the wall going into the storage room.

“Cant…too hungry to do anything…” Luffy exhaustively spoke.

“Me too” Chopper copied.

“This would be so much easier without the damn cannon fire.” Zoro had a annoyed look to him as he was cleaning Wado.

Aries just stretched out her aching limps and folded her arms behind her head, sighing.

Luffy had turned his head to look at Usopp with his tongue hanging out comically.

“Usopp have you caught anything yet?” he sounded so broken.

“For the thousand time. NO! Usopp clenched his hands around the fishing rod.

“If the cannon balls balls don’t kill us starvation will” chopper was still hanging odd the railing, his touch hanging out.

Nami just looked pissed. Aries opened her left eye as she heard someone coming down the stairs, then noticed it was Sanji.

“Here you go my dear” he handed her a cool drink with a smile.

“Thank you~” she replied.

Sanji made his way over to robin. As he did Aries enjoyed the drink she had got.

“Robin I’ve made you some tea and a snack that's as sweet as you. A specialty called Mille Feuille~”

“Thank you cook-san” robin smiled.

As he said this Luffy and chopper shot their heads towards him. Luffy’s mouth was hanging open dramatically, choppers eyes were wide open.

“AHHH!” chopper and Luffy said in unison.

“I want a snack too!” Luffy drooled.

The two of them then shot at Sanji trying to grab the food. Sanji had placed his hand on Luffy’s face while his foot was on Choppers.

“Hey!” he barked.

“C’mon, I’m starving!” Luffy cried

“Give it here!”

“Morons” Zoro sighed.

Aries seemed to have found it funny as she smirked to herself.

Nami just looked completely dumbfounded. “Um, guys. There still right behind us”

She had to raise her voice a bit due to the boys begging for the food had gotten louder. As Nami finished, the shouting had turned to laughter, Chopper and Luffy were lying on the floor getting tickled by Robins devil fruit hands.

Suddenly more cannon balls had started to hit closer to the ship, making water splash onto the deck. Some had splashed onto Aries’s legs, socking them, with the boys were still laughing.

“Fuck sake!” she hissed.

“THIS IS NO TIME TO LAUGH!!!”

“Nami” Zoro had stood up and had looked out to the sea with a hand resting onto the railing. Nami looked over to him.

“It appears we have more to worry about then just the marines. Your the navigator… so navigate”

Zoro was looking out to the sea, Nami followed to were he was looking an saw that a very dense fog had started to form.

“Alright, alright!”

Aries stood up and walked to were Zoro was. She moved a little in front of him to have a look out to the sea.

Nami rested her hands on the railing, looking at the fog roll in.

“More fog huh”

The water had started to get more stronger, and more wilder, rocking the ship a bit more harder.

Nami was looking to see were the marines were and then back to the front.

 _ _Actually we might be able to use it to give the marines the slip.__  She thought to herself.

Nami had a anxious look to her as she looked out to sea. There was rocks about and the water was viciously smashing against them, some of the rocks where tight fitting. The water was moving that fast that whirlpools had started to form.

__Its gonna be tricky, the waters moving fast and there reefs everywhere!_ _

“Hard to port guys! But 45 degrees to the left!” Nami pointed as everyone had gotten to their positions, Chopper and Sanji were pulling on a rope next to Nami.

With Nami’s guidance the ship danced through the mind field of reefs and made their way out of the fog.

“Great! Were out of the fog!” Nami sighed.

As they came out they were greeted by a island and the sun beating down on them.

“Guys there's an island dead-a-head!” Usopp shouted from the look out.

Luffy rushed to the front of the ship, eyes nearly popping out of his head.

“I hope there’s food there!!!” he drooled.

The islands was big and as the Merry sailed closer they spotted that it had a beach area, and a place they could dock the Merry.

Once on the island everyone had gotten of the ship, but unbeknownst to them, they were being watched.

* * *

 

The group made their way into the island, the only thing that they had heard were the birds singing.

“Maybe its uninhibited” Robin chimed in.

Aries was walking in the back of the group taking in the fresh air, when suddenly they heard a goat. Everyone looked up ahead to see a small goat grazing.

“A goat!” chopper smiled.

“No its meat!” Usopp, Sanij and Luffy shouting in unison.

 Suddenly they ran after it chanting meat.

“Are they always like this?” Aries spoke.

“Unfortunately” Nami sighed, then they all went after them.

As they came out of the woods there was a massive opening with a big tree planted in the middle, the goat had ran out and stood in front of the tree looking scared.

Usopp, Luffy and Sanji continued to run after it chanting meat, that was until Nami stood in front of them with her arms out.

“Get a hold of yourselves! I know your hungry but leave him alone, he’s just a cut little goat!” Nami shouted.

The goat looked at them with those big brown eyes.

“A cute little goat that’ll taste great” Aries walked up licking her lips.

“Hey!” Nami bit.

“Exactly!” the three boys agreed.

Suddenly Zoro grabbed Wado Ichimonji, and had started to pull it out.

“>TT< wish I could say the same for his buddies but there not cute and definitely not little!”

“Huh?” Nami looked at him, then turned around.

As Nami turned around she saw many more goats appearing out of the long grass, goats much bigger then the one against the tree, and theses looked quite angry. They had managed to surround the group.

“Bahhh!” the goats voiced.

“Oh no, they set a trap and fell right into it!” Chopper panicked.

“I walked into a trap set by goats?…By goats?!” Aries looked quote displeased

Suddenly the goats all charged at them.

“I’ll take care of them” Zoro pulled Wado Ichimonji out of its sheathe.

“Don’t hurt them! These goats aren't really evil, I can tell that much” Chopper spoke quickly.

Suddenly one of the goats smashed its horns against Zoro’s sword pushing him back a little.

Sanji had started to kick them but every time he kick they would just jump over his leg, with what seemed to be with a smug look on there faces, which just pissed Sanji off even more.

“Bastards!” he hissed.

“Tabasco star!” Usopp pulled out his sling shot and let off a shot. However when he did the goat just kicked it back with his hind legs, and it went straight into Luffy’s face.

“AHHHHH!!!!” Luffy’s eyes had started to burn like mad and had started to run around screaming.

“Whoa…I didn’t expect that” Usopp staggered out.

“USOPP HELP!!!!” he continued.

Aries watched as Luffy ran around screaming and thought it was quite funny. Suddenly goats launched themselves at her, but she easily dodged them every time.

A few goats had cornered chopper, he held up his hooves as he spoke in a none threatening manner. “Wait, we're not going to eat you or anything. Promise, we mean you no harm.”

The goats edged a little closer to him. “Why did you try to trap us? Whats the deal?”

One of the goats held up its front leg. “Bah bahh, bah bah, bahh” the goat spoke.

“Huh? What the heck?! they just said someone ordered them to do it”

“Who was it!” Nami screamed.

Meanwhile Zoro was blocking a horde of goats off while Sanji kept trying to kick them away, but they just kept coming. Usopp however was running around holding onto his butt while goats ran after him.

“Ahh! Theses goats are fucking anoying!” Aries shouted.

“Agreed” Zoro exhaled.

Zoro was about to slash the goats to make them back off when Chopper suddenly ran up to him, while shouting. “No Zoro, please stop!”

“Me! And what about the goats?!?”

Nami turned her head around. “Chopper watch out!” She shouted.

A few goats had charged at Chopper, he had started to become more frustrated. “STOP IT!!!” Chopper shouted with his hooves in the air, and suddenly turning into his human form.

The group had formed a small circle in front of the tree getting ready for another attack. As Chopper turned big all the goats had stopped there attack and looked quote shocked. Without warming there came some noises from a near by tree and an old man suddenly feel out, hitting the ground hard and moaned in pain as he did.

Once the old man got his bearings he looked at the group and his eyes widened with fear. “AHH A MONSTER!!!” he pointed his figure andshouted.

The group however, just looked dumbstruck.

Luffy was the first to brake the silence. “Your really one to talk, weird old guy”

“Chopper is that old man the one who gave the goats their orders?” Nami asked.

Chopper, still in his human form, turned to the goats. “So how about it?”

“Bahhh” the goats spoke together.

Chopper turned small again. “Thats a yes”

The old man had started to panic, he had started to bit on his figure nails and edged away from them.

“Properly thought we came here to rob him or something” Zoro pitched in.

“Hey its okay. All were looking for it food and to restock on some fresh water” Sanji gave a friendly smile.

“Nice try but I cant trust anything a pirate says and I'm telling all of you now, there's no treasure on this island! I don’t have any money!”

“No offense, but we kind of figured that out already, by the way you dress old man” Usopp spoke.

“Damn pirates you'll get nothing out of me, so do your worst! Roast me! Bake me! I wont talk!” he crossed his arms over his chest.

As he said this a smile went across Aries’s face, but before she could say anything Sanji walked a little closer to him.

“Ahh that's good” Sanji clicked his figures. “I’m a cook you see, I excel in roasting and baking” he smiled.

“I wonder how long he’ll last” Aries crossed her arms over her chest.

“WAIT! The old man put his hands out in a surrender motion. “I was only joking! Stay away!” he moved back quite a bit and had found some rocks and started to throw them. As he threw them he was shouting at them. When suddenly he dove for the bush behind him.

The old man was upside down in the bush breathing heavy with a panicked look on his face. When suddenly he saw a black boot appear in from on him. Suddenly the bushed were sliced and the old man looked on in horror and fell out of the bush, fainting int he process.

“Whoa, is he okay?” Luffy bend down to have a closer look.

“The old coo seemed pretty tough, never took him for a fainter” Usopp looked on as Chopper ran up to him.

Chopper pressed his head onto his chest to listen, suddenly his eyes widened. “OH NO GUYS!” he shouted as he moved his head. “HIS HEART STOPPED BEATING!”.

Everyone was shocked by this and suddenly shot there eyes towards Zoro and moved a little away from him.

“Zo-ro!” Luffy shouted.

“You!” Usopp followed after.

Nami placed her hands against her mouth. “How cruel!”

“Ill Say” Sanji hand his hands in his pockets.

“I knew you were heartless” Aries looked at him smugly as her hand was placed against her mouth.

“Hey I didn’t-…But he-… I didn’t think he!” Zoro panicked as he looked at the group trying to prove his innocence.

Chopper had started to press down on his chest with goats looking on anxiously.

“I'm a doctor, is there a place near by were we can stabilize him?” he asked the goats.

“Bahh” one goat replied, sadly.

Chopper had turned big and gently picked him up and followed the goat to the old mans house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding what Aries said in the last chapter, with the Dano race I wanted them to have a language that isn't spoke anymore. I was gonna make one up but found it a little hard to get it right. I liked the idea of how Lain is a dead language so I thought I would use some of the words from Lain. 
> 
> However looking thought the language there are quite a few different ways to spell the same word, so whenever I use the Lain words I wont be looking to see if its Masculine or Feminine etc. However I will try and find the correct way word but i wouldn't count on it >.<


	9. Countdown

There was a massive group of goats waiting outside with Luffy and the others standing around the old man’s opened bedroom. Chopper had finished treating the old man and had started to pack everything away.

“Uh, I almost very well lost my life out there shudda known better then drop my guard around you pirates.

“Oh c’mon” Usopp placed his hands on his hips. “it wasn’t our fault, you fainted on your own”

“Your heart stopped because you were shocked to see us old goat guy?

“Maybe he was shocked to look at Zoros face” Aries coughed.

“HEY!” Zoro bit back, as he did Aries just gave a mischievous smirk.

“On the grand line, you encounter surprises stranger than us every day, with that weak ticker of yours I’m surprised you’ve lasted as long has you have old timer.

“Yeah I’ll say” Luffy smiled.

“We’re just happy that Chopper was able to resuscitate you” Nami sighed happily.

Suddenly the old man shot up.

“What’s there to be happy about missy?!” the old man picked up his abacus and started to move the small disks on it.

“You scared the hell outta me! Not to mention almost got me killed! Now I’m laying up and can’t chop wood or do my chores, you scallywags owe me. Lest see here” he continued to work it out on his abacus. “50 Million Berries to be exact. As he was saying this Zoro, Usopp, Sanji and Luffy had walked off with a deadpan look on their face. Aries had long since left the group and was standing with the goats, stroking them.

Aries stood in the middle of the goats minding her own business when Robin approached her.

 

* * *

 

 

“We’re what?” Aries asked unbelievably

“I said that we would go his chores for him.” Luffy replied.

Aries looked at him and sighed.

After a while everyone was doing the old man’s chores, Robin Chopper and Aries had started to feed the goats, Luffy two buckets in his hands and two hung around his shoulders.

“Wow that old guy seems to have a dislike for pirates, doesn’t he? I wonder why he’s got such a grudge against us” Sanji spoke has he had started to chop some wood.

“The goats said that he’s the only person on the island and has been for the last 20 years, that’s when he first washed ashore here from somewhere else.

“20 years? we’ve met someone like that before, right?” Luffy mused.

With Nami remembering when they went to that island after fighting Buggy the clown.

“Where you going Zoro?” Luffy shouted.

However, Zoro didn’t reply and just kept walking into the woods.

“Zoro…Zoro”

“what? I’m gonna find something to eat, even if that old man does have food, I doubt he’ll share it with us.”

“Oh cool” Luffy put his hands in the air with clenched fists. “In that case bring back some meat, kay!”

“>TSK< I’ll try, but don’t get your hopes up” Zoro hissed and went off.

After Zoro went off the old man came out looking pissed, he eyed Sanji up as he chopped the wood.

“Put your back into it more, what’s with you youngsters today! Can’t you chop wood right?!” the old man turned around muttering to himself.

Next, he examined his home, he traced his figure alone a wooded seat and as he did his finger as accumulated quite a bit of dirt.

“You call this clean! What a joke!” the old man patted the seat quite hard making the dust come off. “Clean it right this time!” he turned around. “you go fetch some grass and feed the goats! And you go patch up my roof!”

“Yes sir!” Usopp ran across the grass his a few nails in his mouth, a hammer in his hand and some planks under his arm while holding a bag of nails.

“Yes sir!” Luffy ran in the opposite direction holding a lot of grass for the goats.

The old man sighed and sat down. “I’m so tired” he clenched his fist and waved it in the air. “well don’t just stand there, get over her and rub my shoulders!” Chopper came over and started to rub his shoulders “Can’t you kids figure out anything yourself?

“keep at it and you won’t see tomorrow” Aries cursed under her breath.

“Do I have to point out all the other things that have to be done around here?”

Usopp looked saddened and he stopped hammering the wood. “Oh no, there’s more?”

“Yep” the old man replied.

Luffy had walked past Aries and noticed something.

“Huh? Hey Aries?”

“Yeah?” She turned away from feeding the goats.

“Where’s your tail.”

As he said this Aries rushed to him placing her hand over his mouth.

“SHH!” she hissed quietly.

Aries looked at the old man and saw that he was looking at the weirdly but was quickly distracted by the shoulder rub Chopper was giving him.

Aries attention went back to Luffy, who looked quite puzzled. She then removed her hand from his mouth.

“I’ve hidden it”

“Hidden it…were?”

Aries sighed and then pulled her shorts out a bit so Luffy could see. Aries tail was wrapped around her hips tightly,

“I usual wrap it around one of my legs but I’m wearing shorts so…” Aries let go of the shorts and started to head back to the goats.

“Why do you hide it?” Luffy stood there holding onto the buckets.

“If you looked like me you would.”

Luffy stood there looking a bit puzzled, but then went back to the chorus after the man shouted at him.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Zoro had gotten back half the day had gone. He saw that Usopp was on the roof cursing to himself as Robin and Nami were tiring some straw together, Sanji had prepared some food with Luffy lighting the cooking pot on fire. While Aries was sprawled out on the floor.

“I finally made it back” Zoro was holding a sack of food over his shoulder and made his way other to the straw-hat kid and the cook.

“You guys are still doing chores?” Zoro asked.

“Yeah” Luffy sighed.

“The old guys been working us to death all day he’s never lighting up” Usopp spoke down from the roof.

Nami placed her hands on her hip with a tiered look on her face, “Yeah, were all worn out”

Luffy was pressed against the floor with his tongue hanging out dramatically. “And were hungry too”

Zoro placed the bag on the floor and a load of fruits came out.

Aries was laying on her back with her hand on her chest, quietly and slowly trying to get her breathing to go back to normal, as it did she let out a sigh. “I thought…my days of doing other people’s bidding was over” she rasped.

“What do yeah mean?” Usopp asked.

“Huh, oh juts speaking metaphorically” Aries brushed it off.

All of them got together and Luffy had started to eat an apple and Aries started to eat a pear.

“A pirate ship?” Luffy asked with a mouth full.

“I know it sounds crazy, but there’s one up there. I know what I saw”

“I wonder who coulda made it” Luffy swallowed.

Sanji placed a lit fag in his mouth. “Well the old guys the only one who’s here”

“But why would that miserable old coo build a pirate ship? Usopp questioned.

“How should I know?”

Suddenly a smirk went across Nami’s face and placed her index finger across the side of her mouth and her thumb pressed on her jaw. “I think I know why and were in luck if I’m right” she smiled.

The guys looked at her weirdly, while Aries was sat near Robin finishing off her pear.

“Anyway, let’s check it out” Nami turned around facing the mountain off in the distance. “it’s just up there, right Zoro?” Nami laughed and then ran off.

“Let’s go” Luffy laughed.

“I’m beat, do we have to run?” Usopp cried.

Aries Followed after Sanji and Robin, still finding it hard to breathe a little.

“Hey, wait, its farther then it looks!” Zoro shouted for them.

 

 

 

> _\- A Very Short Time Later -_
> 
>  

Everyone was standing at the edge of the opening, staring at this wooden, semi built, pirate ship.

“Wasn't that far” Luffy spoke first.

 _Damn! It was this close all this time and I didn’t even notice!_ Zoro facepalmed.

Sanji pulled the cig in his mouth and blow the smoke out “It seems kinda creepy if you ask me”

“Yes, like sighting a ghost ship on a dark night” Robin spoke up in a smooth mature voice.

“Nice” Aries walked a little towards it.

“Robin don’t say that” Usopp cried.

Suddenly loads of lights started to come out.

“Whoa, what’er those?” Luffy question

“AHH!!! vengeful spirits from the dead! Whaddya think!!!” Usopp wept.

“T-eh, there coming for you Long Nose” Aries turned around to face Usopp, she had such a menacing look on her face.

Usopp almost fainted from fright.

“There only fireflies, God” Nami sighed irritatingly as she made her way onto the ship with the others following.

Once on the ship they looked around, Nami looked around inside looking for what she thought was going to be there but made her way outside once she couldn’t find it.

“Well it looks like it isn’t here”

“What’s not here Nami?” Luffy asked from the top of this ship.

“The treasure” she spoke bluntly.

“What treasure?” everyone spoke apart from Robin.

“The one that old man has” Nami crossed her arms over her chest and looked down while thinking. “He’s not just a hermit, I’m sure of it” she turned around and pointed to the others “If I’m right he’s a former pirate!”

“A pirate! Him!” again, everyone apart from Robin Spoke.

“His ship was probably smashed to pieces by these reefs we saw and he’s properly the only survivor. He’s more likely building this ship to get off the island. But since he’s a lone it’s taken years to complete it.”

“Hey, wait” Usopp placed his palm up “If he’s really a pirate, how come he dislikes them so much? That just doesn’t make any sense”

“Makes sense to me.” everyone turned there attention to Aries “He’s properly acting that way to keeps up from finding the treasure he’s hidden somewhere, i mean wouldn't you?” Aries spoke as she leaned against the railing.

“Exactly!” Nami agreed. “I knew there was something shady about that old guy right from the start.” Nami placed her index finger on her chin and her thumb on her jaw again. “What confirmed it from me was the furniture I saw back in his hut. He had some pretty valuable things for a poor hermit.”

Sanji clapped his hands together “Your beautiful and astute~” he spoke sweetly

Usopp held up his hands again “Get real guys. There’s no way that old dude could be a pirate. C’mon he fainted”

“I didn’t say he was a pirate now, I said he bet he was a long time ago” Nami bit back defensively. “Why else would he build this ship?”

“There’s a dense forest again with no paths” Robin spoke as she looked at the forests

“Hum?” everyone questioned.

“Plus there’s a steep cliff to the rear. If he’s going to build a bout to escape, why do it all the way up here in the mountains?” she continued.

The guys turned their attention back to Nami. “Yeah how come Nami?” they all questioned.

“Um…I don’t noo” Nami had some sadness in her voice.

“Maybe it’s a coffin?” Aries clenched her fist and gently hit the side of it into the palm of her other hand.

Everyone turned to her and just stared at her.

“What…it could be true…” Aries pouted.

 

* * *

 

 

The group made their way back to the old man’s hut and had started a fire. Aries was practically sitting on stop of it trying to keep herself warm. She was shivering a little and Sanji noticed and gave her his jacket.

“Oh, thank you~”

“Your very welcome my darling~”

“Your cold?” Usopp asked.

“Yeah, it is cold y’know” Aries raised an eyebrow.

“Hum, your right it is quite cold.

“Y’think!” she hissed.

Sanji went and sat on some logs with his hands in his pockets and a cig in his mouth.

“Hum I think we should get off this island right now, working us to death is bad enough, but that weird ship was that last straw” Usopp spoke with a fed up tone.

 _Working to death is bed enough._ Aries thought.

Luffy just kept his head down. “I’m staying here” he spoke seriously.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

“Hum. Why?” Usopp asked.

“Cos I’m hungryyy!” and then the seriousness was gone… “That stuff Zoro brought back didn’t fill me up, duhh” Luffy fell back with his arms sprawled out.

“WHAT! NO!” Nami and Zoro synced.

Zoro shot up and grabbed Luffy by the collar. “You!” he shouted. “You know how long it took me to collect all that?!?”

As Zoro was ripping off Luffy’s head, Aries tried her best to hide the food she had shoved in her mouth.

Sanji stood up with his hands in his pockets. “Till we know what’s going on, it best to stop at the Merry.

As Sanji was speaking Chopper came out with his head held low.

“Oh Chopper” Nami noticed. “We’re heading back to the ship”

“I’m staying here by the old man’s side…I’m a doctor I can’t just abandon one of my patients” he spoke quietly

“Buuuut he gotten better right? If you keep helping him there’ll be no end to it”

“Actually…the end will be soon.” he replied.

“What do you mean Chopper?” Zoro asked.

Luffy tilted his head to the side a bit. “Huuuh?”

“Cryptic” Aries swallowed the last of the food quickly.

The atmosphere had gotten quite heavy.

“I-it’s his heart…I thought it stopped because Zoro scared him. But that’s not the case at all…it stopped cos he’s sick”

“So, when you say end?! you mean?” Nami panicked.

Chopper looked with sadness written all over his face. “No doubt about it, my prognosis says he only has three days left!”

Everyone apart from Aries and Robin gasped. “What?”

“Just three days?” Zoro asked.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

> _\- The Next Day -_
> 
>  

Everyone was up bright an early, they had gathered everything they needed for the feats and after a few hours they had started to lay it out. Everyone was sat around the massive mint coloured blanket on the floor, Nami, Sanji and Usopp were sorting the food out. Luffy however, was trying to get the food early but kept getting hit either by Nami or Sanji. Aries was sat at the corner next to Zoro and Robin, chopper was looking at her injures.

“Hum, the infection seems to have gone down quite a bit.” Chopper handed her some tablets. “Keep taking theses and soon the infection should be gone.”

“ _Gratias ago_ ” she spoke with a slight accent.

“What language is that” Nami asked.

“Uh…erm” Aries rubbed the back of her head. “It’s my native tongue”

Robin looked at her intriguingly.

“Native tongue?” Nami and Usopp synchronized.

“Huh yeah you two don’t know do yeah. She isn't human” Luffy grinned.

“huh?!”

“B-but you look human” Usopp gasped.

“Rude…” she sighed. “Again…I'm just because I look human doesn’t mean I am” Aries waved her hand dismissively

“What else can you speak?” Nami asked.

“Not much. It kind of died out thousands of years ago. However older Danos can speak it, the younger ones, not so much. The most they can do it speak a few words or a sentence or two.” Aries picked up her mug.

Before anyone could say anything, the old man walked out of his hut.

“Morning” He spoke groggily. And then he started to sniff. “Huh, what’s that smell?”

Nami was kneeled on the floor holding a bowl of food, while Usopp was holding a plate of fish. The blanket was laid out with all kinds of food they had found on it.

“Sanji made breakfast” Nami spoke with a smile.

“Just a small one, bon appetite”

The old man’s mouth started to water as he looked at the delicious food laid out for him.

“SMALL?! YOU MADE A FEAST!” he shouted.

“Yeah Sanji’s a really good cook! Dig in!” Luffy smiled

“The goats showed us were to find the freshest fruit on the island and the best fishing spots didn’t you guys?” Chopper spoke happily.

“Bahhh” a load of goats agreed.

Nami had walked towards the old man and tugged on his arm. “well? C’mon eat”

“No, I can’t afford it. Like I said I don’t have any money” the old man waved his abacus around.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on us” Nami pulled him towards the food.

The old man had a suspicious look on his face. “There isn’t any poison in this is there?” he blurted out.

“That’s just rude!” Nami placed her hands on her hips.

Usopp and Chopper had sat at each side of him with a smile on their faces.

“It’s just us young whippersnapper tryin’ to do something nice for elders.” Usopp smiled.

“Yep, but I mean if you don’t want it, I’ll eat it” Luffy stretched him arm over to grab the food in front of the old man, but he suddenly grabbed Luffy’s arm.

“No hang on! I’m gonna eat it!” he suddenly realised that Luffy had stretched him arm over and looked at him.

 _So, this runt ate a devil fruit._ Aries thought as she looked at him a little shocked also.

The man let go of Luffy’s arm and it snapped back.

“AHH, what was that!!!” the old man shouted, then he suddenly started to breath hard while holding onto his chest.

“AHH! Are you okay old man!!!” CHopper shouted as Usopp looked on in horror.

Nami came up behind Luffy and hit him on the head. “DON’T SCEAR HIM!” she shouted.

“Sorry” Luffy replied sheepishly.

Once everything had calmed down they started to laugh as Luffy told the old man that he had eaten a devil fruit.

“Um-um, this food, I haven’t eaten anything that was this delicious in ages!” He smiled happily.

“Hey Old timer, if there’s anything else we can do for you just ask, we’ll be more than happy to do it” Nami spoke sweetly.

Usopp tried to keep his tears from falling. “Is there any particular last requests?” Usopp spoke while crying.

As Usopp said this the old man looked at him, but before either of them could say anything Nami punched him in the face.

“NOBODY ASKED YOU!” she shouted.

“If you like this kinda food, I can make it again for you”

The old man smiled while holding onto a plate of food. “You will? Thank you so much! Yeah it tastes so good!” he shoved the food into his mouth.

“It’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven” the old man spoke as Chopper laughed. But he suddenly stopped as he heard the old geezer struggling and slowly going quiet. He had dropped his chopsticks to the floor and held onto his chest with both hands. The others looked on in shock.

“What’s wrong old goat guy?” Luffy asked.

“OH NO!!!” Chopper screamed.

“Well…so much for three days” Aries spoke.

“A-already?” Usopp gasped.

“Poor thing” Nami cried.

“Hey, stay with us” Sanji’s cig had fallen to the floor.

Suddenly the old man swallowed, and then let out a massive sigh.

“You were so good that I shoved it down too fast and it got stuck in my throat” he laughed.

Most of them hit the floor.

“You almost made our heart stop there fella” Usopp spoke sheepishly as he put his wait on his arms that were behind him.

“Don’t scare us like that” Nami anxiously spoke.

Chopper wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a sigh of relive. “What a relive, I knew it was too soon to happen”

“To what to happen fur ball?” the oldy turned to look at him.

Before he said anything Nami’s shoes had come flying at him, hitting him in the face and making him fall backwards.

 _T-eh, she quite feisty._ Aries mused while smiling.

“Um nothing, he just meant that it’s too soon to stop eating Sanji’s delicious food” Usopp handed the old man a plate of food. “here have some of mind old timer”

“And mind too” Nami placed her plate up towards him with a smile.

“And mine as well” Robin followed

“All this food for me?! Thank you” as he was saying this Luffy had stretched him arm across to grab his plat of food, but the old man suddenly smashed him wooden sandals like shoes onto Luffy’s arm and rubbed on it with a pissed off look.

“It’s fantastic!” shouted and everyone apart from Zoro, Aries and Robin joined in laughing, Luffy was laughing a little awkwardly as he held onto his burning arm. Robin was just smiling happily at them.

Zoro was deep in thought while looking at the old man.

Aries was drinking her drink as she saw Zoro was focused on something.

“Something wrong?” Luckily she was close to him so he could hear her whisper.

“Huh? Zoro looked at her from the corner of his eye.

“Hum, s’nothing” he sat up and too a swig from his drink.

Aries looked at him and then at her drink. “Don’t believe he’ll die in three days?” as she said this he looked at her. She turned her head to him and smiled and took another drink.

Zoro sighed and rubbed his head while watching her smile and drink.

The volume of the group went louder as they all were enjoying themselves. Aries was poring some sake into Zoro's drink that she had somehow managed to acquire. Luffy was scoffing down food like there was no tomorrow, Nami and Usopp had to keep an eye on his as well so he didn’t steal the old man’s food.


	10. Sweet Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter I will be starting Jaya. 
> 
> I’ve looked through this again and corrected a few things. Apologies, was practically half asleep when I wrote this >.<

Aries was sat on the side of the ship watching the men working on it. As usual the old man was barking out orders. Nami was trying to get him to sit down. As she did a smile went across Aries's face as the old man freaked out when Robin sprouted some arms.

“So I was wonder, why did you decided to buy a ship all the way up in the moutons old timer.” Sanji inquired.

“I..erh ha…it’s not a ship”

Luffy Usopp and Chopper looked around unsurely.

“It’s not a ship?” Luffy asked.

“Come on” Usopp stepped a little forward point the hammer at them. “if this isn't a ship then what is it supposed to be?”

“Well son.” The old man smiled. “It'll be my coffin”

“Knew it” Aries hit the side of her fist into the palm of her other hand.

“Your coffin?!” everyone apart from Robin and Aries spoke.

“Yeah, it'll be my final resting place.” He leaned back into the chair

Luffy clamped his hand together and gave a slight bow. “I see, we’re standing on your grave”

“You'll jinx him, stop that!” Usopp panicked.

“Now hold on” Sanji, who was looking out from a window of the ship looking a little anxious. “Slowdown”

“Yeah you shouldn’t over prepare” Chopper voiced.

Nami looked at the old man with one of her hands to her face.

 _Could grams here have a premonition that his life’s almost over._ She thought.

“Leave him be” Aries leaned back a little, putting her wait onto her arms. “He’s by himself. Once he kicked the bucket who’ll bury him. Those goats?”

“Aries! You'll jinx” Nami and Usopp poke up nervously.

“SHUT IT!”

Everyone looked at her, even Zoro who was busy cutting up the wood. “Death maybe ugly, but it’s a truth you have to be ready for!” Aries hissed angrily.

They were taken back a little by what she had said, and silence fell over them.

“The little missy’s right.”

Everyone looked at the old man, who had leaned back into the chair, wearing a small smile.

“I live here by myself, I have to plan for everything. Even the possibility of my own death. After all I'm gonna die someday aren't I?” the old man closed his eye while smiling.

Aries smiled. “T-eh. Death doesn’t discriminate and it sure as hell doesn’t care what time it is, you could live another 50 years…or you could die tomorrow. But from the looks of things, you got stuff sorted out old timer” Aries smiled a little.

Everyone looked at Aries who was sat there with a slight smile on her face.

There was a short silence before Luffy spoke up.

“It’s not so unusual for there to be a grave up in the mountain.”

“Yeah but why would you want your grave to be a pirate ship?” Sanji questioned.

As he said this the old man suddenly leaned forward. Nami put her hands to her face and started to shake a little.

“OLD TIMER!” Usopp, Chopper and Luffy shouted and they run up to the front of the ship.

“Wait old man!” Sanji shouted following them.

“Looks like death called”

“Aries!” Usopp shouted sadly.

“Coffin or grave, whatever you want to call it, is almost finished! You don’t want to go jumping the gun yeah?” Usopp cried.

“Shhhh” Nami put a finger to her lips “he’s just sleeping that’s all”

Aries could hear the quite snores of the old man and watched as the others sighed in relive.

 _Why are they getting so worked up over an old man? They don’t even know him…_ She pondered.

 

* * *

 

 

Aries was walking back to the old man’s hut eating an apple and with a bag of fruit over her shoulder. Her body was feeling somewhat better. Once she got back she saw Zoro squatting next to Usopp, Luffy and Sanji.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Aries placed the bag on the floor. However, she didn’t get a response as Sanji was hugging Luffy and Usopp while crying.

“Huh?” she looked dumbfounded.

Zoro sighed. “Yeah very brief. And in that brief moment three days have already gone by” Zoro spoke bluntly.

“Huh? say what now” they synchronised.

“Your right, so how is it he's still alive and kicking?” Usopp scratched his chin while looking at the elder man who was haply eating some cheeses.

“What’s more, he looks healthier then he did before”

Aries sat next to them and picked out another apple from the bag. She watched Chopper walk over to them.

“Chopper I thought you said that old man wasn’t supposed to live for three days?” Zoro asked.

“He looks like he could live for another 30 years. Did you miss diagnose him?” Sanji blow smoke out from the corner of his mouth.

“No. impossible. Though if I did it wouldn’t be a bad thing right?” Chopper laughed a little.

“Hey, if you want I can make him kick the bucket” as Aries said this everyone looked at her.

“You mean kill him?” Zoro asked.

“Yeah?”

“you can’t do that!” Chopper shouted.

“W-why would you?” Usopp cried.

“Y-you were talking about how he hasn’t kicked the bucket yet” Aries could feel her face going a little red.

Usopp stood up with a determined look on his face. If he's not dying, then no matter what anyone says, I'm leaving.”

“Yeah I'm not kissing up to the old geezer for the rest of my life” Sanji followed placing a cig in his mouth.

“I want to get back to having adventure” Luffy stood up with his hand on his head.

Zoro stood up holding onto his katanas. “That settles it then. Nami, we’re setting sail” Zoro looked over to Nami who was playing chess with the old man. She looked quite anxious.

Aries sighed and stood up still munching on the apple.

“Er, could we hold off a little” she spoke sheepishly.

“What are we supposed to hang around here cooling our heels while you play another game of chess?” Usopp sounded a little irritated.

“I can’t quite playing now…okay? I lost so many games to gramps that I ended up giving the ship to him.”

Aries laughed as the males of the crew freaked out. They rushed over to her when she lost another game of chess, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji held Nami's arms to try and stop her from playing while Chopper had ran under the table to try and destroy the game but the old man had lifted the bored. The he looked quite happy at his victory.

“You want your ship back, you'll just have to work on this island until you’ve paid me back as much as it worth.” He then brought out his abacas and started to work it out. “By my reckoning, you'll be working for me for the next 10 years” the old man then looked over to Sanji, Usopp and Luffy with a smug look.

“So, how’s tricks with you? hahaha” he smiled.

The three boys put there hands up in a surrender manor and moved back. Aries and Zoro were standing behind a defeated Nami.

“I'm good at card games. But chess…T-ha, no, I'm quite shit” Aries looked at the board. Robin, meanwhile was feeding the goats.

The others walked away from the old man, leaveing Aries and Chopper standing next to him. Aries was looking at the bored interestingly.

“Heh. Wanna play missy?” the old man smiled.

“>TSK< No thanks”  

Aries watched as Robin had started to play agsint him, and from the looks of it, she was winning.

“That’s checkmate” Robin spoke gently.

Everyone looked around astonished and rushed back over to the old man.

“Well I be”

“Well it looks like we can get the ship back” Robin giggled.

“Well old man, give up?”

The old man looked at her then hit his had onto the table. “you win” he cried.

Nami practically hugged Robin. “Looks like we can always can you. Right big sister~”

Sanji, Usopp and Luffy had smug looks on their faced and went up to the old man. “So, how’s tricks with you?” they all said.

The old man put his hands up, stepping back a little. “All right don’t rub it in” he then slammed his hands on the table then raised them above his head. “I've lived many years, but I've never met pirates interesting like you. I love you kids! Let’s have a party tonight and lets celebrate!”

“Yeah let’s celebrate! Getting our ship back!” Luffy shouted and they all cheered.

 

* * *

 

 

As it was starting to get dark Aires could feel her body getting heavy. It was working overtime, healing her injuries, and doing none stop chores throughout the days didn’t help either. They boys had gone off to get more food while Nami, Robin and Chopper remind behind.

Robin and Nami was feeding the goats while Chopper was attending to the old man. Aries was sat against a tree close to Robin and Nami. Aries slowly got up and made her way over to Chopper.

“Hey doc” she wheezed.

“What’s wrong Aries, you are feeling okay? You look a little pale.” he asked looking up from the old man.

“I need to get some sleep, I was wondering if you had nay more of those tablets?”

“Huh, yeah, I think I have some spar in my bag or something, I’ll have a look.”

“What’s up with your eyes?”

Aries looked at him. Throughout the days she been here, she's had her bangs covering her eyes a bit so it’s hard for people to see them. But when she reached up she noticed that she had moved her hair out of the way.

None of yeah business” she snapped as she tried to cover her eyes.

“Here” Chopper handed her some and she rushed out of there with a huff.

“Huh?”

“I've come to know its best not asking questions” Chopper sighed.

Aries had come out found a suitable place to sleep. She sat down under a bit tree and took the tablets. After about 10 minutes she could feel her body started to become heavy and got herself comfortable and let the sleep take her.

 

* * *

 

 

_A 10-year-old looking girl, was standing in the middle of a clearing. Long black, slight messy hair all tied up. She was wearing a pair of black baggy pants. She had a pair of shin protectors on and a pain of combat boots. On her top half she was wearing a plan black t-shirt with a black hoody._

_On her exposed face she was wearing facial paint. She had 3 small-ish circles under her left eye, they were coloured red. And a blue line starting between her eyebrows, going down her nose and stopping just a little under her chin,_

_All that she had to defend herself was a katana. There was something out there rushing around. The girl shot her head around and gripped the katana tight. Suddenly something shot at her, she brought her katana up, she had managed to block it, but the force was great and pushed her back a bit._

_By the time she had stopped moving, she had left a trail in the ground. She was holding on to the katana and shooting her head around. Suddenly it shot at her again, it brought out its sword and kept swinging it at her. it was moving as fast as lightning and if she wasn’t able to understand the basics of observational Haki she wouldn’t of been able to see them coming. However, she is still a novice and it isn't up to scratch._

_The assault had been gonging for more 10 minutes and she was growing tired. Suddenly the thing shot at her again and slashed the katana at her, and as it did a massive shockwave was released and she tried to block it but it flung her further into the woods, cutting the trees down in the process._

_The black heard girl was lying on the floor, her cloths torn and covered in blood. She had a cut across her arms from where she had blocked the attack, it had also nicked her shoulder and hip. She lied there breathing heavy when the same clocked figure walked towards her._

_“Get up” the deep voice spoke._

_“Ugh” the girl moved her body over. she pushed herself up but ended up collapsing back into the ground._

_“You’re a warrior.”_

_The girl managed to get to her feet and face the clocked figure. She moved but one of her legs gave out, when she looked at it she saw that she ad a big piece of bark sticking out of it. She pulled it out with a grunt and used her  stand up._

_“Warriors don’t give up”_

_The figure continued to walk to her._

_“And they don’t back down.”_

_The girl slowly walked towards the figure, she had a determined look in her amber and black eyes._

_“Pick up your sword”_

_She slowly got down and pick up her sword and held it firmly._

_“And fight!”_

_As the figure spoke this she lunged at him. As she did she went for a kill shot by trying to take off his head, however he punched her in the stomach and sent her flying into some trees._

_She coughed up blood and she suddenly moved out of the way when a blade pierced the ground where her head would be. She shot her head up and lunged her sword at the figure heart but he easily dogged it. she moved after him, each swipe of her sword was a kill shot. The one-sided attack lasted nearly fifteen minutes, making the her extremely exhausted. She had been at this for days now._

_Suddenly she found herself near a cliffs edge. She looked down and noticed it was a very long way down with it raining made it extremely dangerous._

_“You’ve impressed me”_

_She turned her attention to the figure again. One of his shoulders had been injured. However, it’s only a skin brake and the only injure she managed to deal him. Her vision was going blurry and she was saying a little, she could feel the blood oozing from her injures. And the rain didn’t help either._

_She was about to move when the figure spoke to her._

_“Stay still” the voice was firm and filled with concern at the same time._

_She couldn’t hear over the heavy rain, she moved one leg in front of the other, but they gave out underneath her and before she knew it the looser and muddier parts of the cliff collapsed._

_“ARIES!”_

_All she saw was the clocked man running up to her. But her eyeline slowly disappeared as she fell down the cliff in the mud slide._

“Aries… Aries”

Aries felt something prodding her, she wanted to move but her body wasn’t listening to her.

“Luffy, leave her be!”

She could hear the footsteps walking away she the sleep took her once more.

_Once Aries woke up she saw that she was lying on a bed on a room. She slowly sat up her body a little aching. She looked around the room and realised it was hers. Aries threw the covers off herself and proceeded to get out of bed. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed that her injures had healed up. Without warning she shot her head up and started to sniff, as she did a smile swept across her face. She ran out of the room and headed towards the kitchen, there she saw a man with light black hair, and light black facial hair. He looked like he was in his late 50s. He was wearing a plane grey top and some grey, with two black stripes down the side of the legs, bottoms and wore a pair of slippers._

_He was quite muscular, and his exposed skin showed that he had been in battle. His tail was much thicker and seemed to be a little longer._

_“Grandfather!” Aries ran up to him and gave him a hug._

_“Aries” he bend down._

_“How are you feeling my dear?”_

_“I feel better thank you” she smiled._

_He looked at his granddaughter and his facial expression turned from happy to sad._

_“Aries, I shouldn’t have pushed you that hard. You would have been able to have gotten out of the way if I hadn’t of pushed you past your limit.”_

_“You don’t need to be. Its my fault for being weak, that’s why I wanted you to push me in our training!”_

_He sighed. “That’s not the point Aries” he lifted his hand and brushed the hair out of her face. “I'm supposed to keep you save. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. Maybe you should go back”_

_“You are! Please don’t make me go back!” Aries pleaded._

_“wouldn’t it be much better back were your mother is, you have your siblings and your fiends”_

_Aries had tears in her eyes and bit her bottom lip. “I-I don’t have any, and Ayato is a bully”_

_“Come on Aries, every sibling always fight. I did with my brothers”_

_“But he's mean! He takes it to far! Last time he left me in the woods for a week. It was hard trying to get back and once I did mother didn’t even realised I was gone” Aries cried._

_As she said this her grandfather looked furious and sad at the same time. He then sighed and pulled her in for a hug. She cried and wrapped her arms around him._

_“Fine, you can stay here” Aries looked at him and smiled._

_“But, we tone it down on how serious the training will be, okay?”_

_“Yes sir!” she grinned. You_

_“Now, are you hungry?” he stood back up and got two plates out._

_“Is it -yaktora_

_“T-eh, I think you mean Yakitori” he smiled._

_“Yeah!” she smiled from ear to ear._

* * *

 

 

“EMERGANCY! WAKE UP!!!” Chopper shouted.

Aries slowly opened her eyes. As she did the sun assaulted them, she had to place her arm over her face so she could see. She slowly sat up rubbing her head.

“THE MARINES! THE MARINES ARE HERE GUYS!” Chopper can ran up to them flailing his arms.

“What’s that?” everyone, apart from Aries spoke.

Aries got up groggily and followed everyone down to the beach. Once there they saw that it was only one ship that wasn’t firing at them.

“Then what is it doing here?” Usopp spoke.

“Straw hats, greetings” A voice came from the ship. “I'm Sargent Minchy, of the marine corps. It’s a pleasure”

“I bet it is” Nami hissed.

“Hey, I'm really sorry about the other day okay? Forgive us. If we had a better understanding of who you were, we wouldn’t of spend the day chasing after you.”

Aries stood there, she yawned and stretched, she was still a little out of it.

“Maybe I'm just paranoid. But I thought the marines were supposed to chase pirates” Sanji pulled the cig out of his mouth.

“You can’t trust marines” Aries yawn. “There always out for themselves.”

Zoro grabbed the hilt of Wado, getting ready to fight.

“Hey now, lets not be hasty. We all know about how you guys defeated crocodile in Alabasta! The last thing we want to do is go against pirates as great as you are without any back up” he held his hands up in a surrender.

“Crocodile? I feel like I've heard that name before” Aries pondered.

“He was one of the seven warlords. Luffy defeated him back in Alabasta” Usopp replied.

“Warlords… Oh yeah. Wait what?” Aries turned her head to Luffy while crossing her arms over her chest. “Your telling me that you defeated one of them?!”

Luffy turned to look at her. “yeah.”

A smile went across her face. “Damn kid. You'll go far if you keep it up” she stuck her dull pointed tongue out.

“Shishishi”

“Just think about it, I’d be stupid to take you on with just one ship” the Sargent looked quite unnerved.

“Well you look at that. He's afraid of us” Usopp laughed.

However, the others didn’t look that much confused.

“Assuming we were stupid enough to take you on, we wouldn’t be earning any money on the deal”

“So, what are you doing here”

“Well you know. Its an uncharted island. Were just here to investigate” he spoke awkwardly.

“What’s there to investigate. Its just an old man and his goats” Nami replied.

Aries mind had drifted, and she had gotten bored of the conversation, plus she was still under the influence of the sleeping pills, so it made it much easier for her to get distracted. By the time she had focused again she was looking at Usopp being held hostage by another marine.

“Excellent work Corporal. Nice timing”

“Are we fucked?” Aries spoke bluntly.

“Drop your weapons now, or else.”

Aries could hear something in the distance but couldn’t make out what it is. Zoro placed his swords on the floor reluctantly.

“Usopp!” Nami shouted.

“Damnit” Zoro hissed.

“Forget me and make a brake for it. These guys plan to kill us no matter what happens. So, run!”

“Keep your mouth shut big nose” the Corporal moved his sword closer to Usopps throat.

“>TT< I don’t plan on dying anytime soon” Aries stepped in front a little clicking her knuckles all the while wearing a smile.

“It’s been some time since I had a decent fight. You guys won’t disappoint will you~?” Aires had a playfulness to her voice, but yet, she had such a menacing look in her eyes that the marines got shivers down their spines.

“You bastards!” Luffy shouted.

“Now that we’ve capture all of you, we don’t even have to wait for the captain to land.” The Sargent moved his hand above his head. “Men take aim!”

“It figures” Sanji sighed.

“Big deal I can handle bullets.” Made a fist.

“That’s great but we can’t handle them” Nami wined.

“I get the treasure of Zenny the money lender, the heads of the straw hats pirates and all the credit” the Sargent moved his hand down.

But as he did Aries shot at one of them. She had such a sadistic look to her. The gunman was startled and got a shot off. The bullet pierced her right side, just under her collar bone. However, this didn’t seem to faze her, as she grabbed the marine by the face and smashed his head into the sand. As she grabbed him tho she tightened her grip, she could feel some bones crush under her grasp and a smile went across her face.

“Aries!” Nami shouted.

The other gunmen were startled and suddenly pointed their guns at her.

“Moron!” Zoro shouted as he headed for his katanas.

Suddenly there was some loud noses coming from the side of the mountain, and when they looked they saw that a ship was sailing down the side of the mountain.

“How is that possible!” the Sargent gasped

Aries could hear the old man shouting with joy.

“Goat man!” Luffy smiled.

“Haha, how’s tricks with you?” the ship smashed out of the woods and slid through the sand making its way into the water.


	11. Whats That In The Sky?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the ending a little bit

“Damn, old timers shot some balls” Aries spoke with a smile as the ship zoomed past them.

“Way a go old goat man!” Luffy shouted with his first in the air.

“Hey don’t encourage him like that” Sanji placed his hands in his pockets.

“His heart hasn’t stopped has it?”

“Don’t make jocks like that Zoro” Nami hissed.

“Old timer, are you okay!?!?” Chopper shouted at the top of his lungs.

Aries got up from the lifeless body of the marine and looked around. The others had got knocked away when the ship had come down and had let go of Usopp. Aries could hear the old man shouting about becoming a pirate or something but she wasn’t paying much attention.

“Yeah old goat man!” Luffy shouted again.

“We told you not to encourage him!” Zoro Nami and Sanji hissed.

“He's a sick man!” chopper joined in.

Aries walked to the others, as she did she put her hand up to her shoulder and noticed it was bleeding.

“Huh, when did that happen?”

“Aries your bleeding” Chopper turned to her.

“You need to be more careful, what would you do if it went through your head?” Nami asked.

Aries sat on the sand so the doctor could look at her wound. “Ha, I wouldn’t be able to do anything…I’d be dead” Aries smiled.

“Don’t joke like that!” Nami bit.

Aries sat there and put her finger in the bullet hole to see if the bullet had gone.

“Don’t put your figure in it!” Chopper slapped her hand away.

“Be careful old man! He's after your treasure!” Usopp screamed.

“Here hold this tight on your shoulder”

Aries got up holing on some fabric to try and stop the bleeding.

“Nami bring the ship around” Zoro whispered.

“I'm on it, c’mon” Nami ran with the others following.

“Dammit! you don’t get to give my sweet Nami orders!” Sanji shouted.

Aries heard shouting then a gun shot went off. As it did Nami and co turned around to look where the shot went. Once they turned around they saw the marine who was holding Usopp, sat on the floor shaking, and a few inches in front of him was a bullet hole in the sand.

“I told you you'd get your cut of the treasure didn’t I” the red-haired marine spoke with annoyance. “Keep your mouth shut, we can’t let the captain know what’s going on”

Aries made her way on to the ship when she heard Luffy shouting.

“You tell him old goat man! Let’s show him how a pirate really fights!” the young captain had stretched his arms out to hold onto old mans ship. And before anyone knew it Luffy had slammed the old geezers ship into the marines, making then crash into some cliffs.

“There!” his arms snapped back.

“MORON!” Nami, Chopper, Usopp and Chopper yelled.

“Well he’s properly dead now” Aries helped Nami and Usopp on board. Usopp had started to pull on some ropes bringing the sail down.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Chopper freaked out.

Sanji had grabbed him and lowered him to the floor. “We know, now take it easy” Sanji stood on the side of the ship.

“Yeah relax Chopper”

“I can’t. The old timers in no kinda shape do be doing anything crazy”

Once the ship had started to move Aries sat on the side with her legs over the edge of the ship. She sat there as Chopper patched up her injure. Unbent to them that Zoro was had just been hit by the ship.

“Huh, did you hear that?” Aries asked.

“Here what?” Chopper asked.

“N-nothing, properly my imagination”

“There all finished” Chopper cleaned his stuff away.

“Look there just waiting for us in formation!” Usopp was standing in the crow’s nest and was looking further out to sea to see more marine ships.

“It’s weird how they show no signs of advancing, we've got to come up with a battle plan while we still can” Nami walked towards the side of the ship.

“Okay, but what should we do? Attack them first?” Sanji lit a cigarette.

“Sounds like a plan!” Aries smiled.

“Are you guys out of your minds?” Nami hissed.

“It doesn’t matter! The first thing we gotta do is help the old man!” Chopper stood there arms full of equipment.

“By the way. Did we hit something a minute ago?” Usopp asked unsurely.

“You two?” Aries looked up.

“Huh did we?” Nami scratched her chin.

“Never mind! Hurry!” Chopper was practically jumping.

 

* * *

 

 

As Merry collided with the old man’s ship they saw the old man lying on his back and Robin was standing in the door way of his ship. The goats had all jumped off the mains ship and landed on the Sargent.

“Old man!” Chopper cried form the railing of the Merry.

“What took you so long, I almost died here!” he hissed.

Chopper jumped down, with Nami following, and ran to him “I was so worried about you!”

Usopp pulled down the eye pieces of his goggles and brought out _Ginga Pachinko_ and let off a shot that hit a marine standing on the other ship, aiming a gun at them.

“And that takes care of you”

“Robin, is this where you’ve been?” Nami asked surprisingly.

“Old man, you can relax now that the might captain Usopp is here” no one was really paying attention to Usopp as he looked all high and mighty.

“How did you get that lump on your head?!”

Aries was standing over the old man and watched as Chopper was freaking out as he wasn’t able to find a pulse, due to him holding the armless sleeve of the old man’s coats.

“Don’t you die old timer!” Chopper cried.

“You think I’d die?” he looked up at the young reindeer and his goats walked closer to him.

The old man grinned. Chopper had injected him with something and used some cotton to get rid of the bleeding.

Everyone was standing around the old man, when Sanji walked up with hands in his pockets.

“So, how you feeling old man?” he asked.

“I'm feeling fine of course” he smiled. “Now that I've become a pirate I don’t want to die, hahahaha”

Everyone was just looking at him laugh as Chopper continued to work on him.

“Huh? where’s Monkey and Zoro?” Aries asked as she looked around.

“Hum, they’ll be around.” Nami shrugged.

Aries was looking inside of the ship to see if they had anything worthwhile. But like usual they didn’t have anything. She sighed and made her way back outside, as she did she saw Usopp sitting next to a marine looking like they were becoming friends.

“Hey, don’t get to chummy there” Sanji spoke.

Aries jumped back onto the old mans ship and when she did she saw they were all laughing about something.

“Oh, gag me! Hey straw hat! You pirates aren't in the clear yet, there’s a fleet out there just waiting to take you on. Don’t think your gonna get away without a fight! Hahahaha” the Sargent laughed as he rolled away from them, due to Nami tying him up earlier one.

“Don’t talk tough when your rolling on the floor” Luffy blurted out.

“Pathetic” Aries huffed.

“Now that’s just sad”

The Sargent stopped rolling. “You’re the pathetic one! You think this puny ship has a shot against 9 ships!” the Sargent then realised that the reason he stopped was because Zoro had placed Wado’s sheathe behind his head.

As the Sargent looked up he saw Zoro standing there with a menacing look in his eyes, as he looked at him he got shiver down his spin and trembled a little.

“I'm not running away” Luffy walked up to him and yanked him up from the floor.

“Tell your marine buddies if they want a fight to come get me” the boy grinned.

“GUM GUM….!”

“Yo Luffy, aim it just a bit higher!” Usopp shouted form the crows nest while looking through some binoculars.

The man trembled in Luffy's grip. “Thanks!” Luffy then throw the sergeant in the air.

Suddenly his arm shot back, it bounced on the floor a little and it collided with the Sargent with full force. “PISTOL!”

The Sargent screamed in pain as he got punched into the sky.

“Nice shot kid” Aries smiled.

“Veeery nice, good direction!” Usopp continued to look through the binoculars and saw that man hit the sail of the marine ship.

 

* * *

 

 

Once everything was sorted Usopp came running to them holding on to a transponder snail.

_Badabda Badabda Badabda_

_Click_

“This is marine captain Moore speaking. I have no interest in the man known as Zenny the money lender. My only goal is to bring in the straw-hat pirates. However, I feel as I owe you a debt of honour for delivering the disgrace member of my fleet. So, I will let you chose where we fight. Come, bring your ship out” the captain spoke strongly.

Luffy smiled and brought the receiver closer to his mouth. “That’s fine, we was thinking of leaving anyway. We’ll be heading out in a minute.

Everyone headed back to the ship, Usopp had mended the old man’s abacus, and Sanji had giving him some food.

“Say, um listen you guys. Are you sure about this?” the old man placed his abacus back in his yellow sash. “I mean you’re going to be face a fleet of nine ships.”

“Don’t worry about it” Luffy walked towards the Merry with a smile.

“I'm not only strong, but I'm also incredibly lucky” the kid grinned and jumped onto the ship.

“I can’t keep up with you sonny” the old man smiled.

“Old timer, I've made up a hole supply of medicine for you, I want you to take it” Chopper sat on the railing of the ship.

“Promise me okay?” Chopper pleaded.

“Alright, alright, relax. I promise ill take it”

Luffy wedged himself between the two ships and pushed the Merry away from his everyone stood at the front of the ship waving to the old man.

“We had a real good time old man” Nami had placed her elbow onto Usopps shoulder and waved.

“Take good care of yourself” Robin spoke smoothly.

“Hey, you guys take care of the old man!” Chopper yelled to the goats.

“Bhaaa!” they replied.

“We’ll see you out on the sea sometime” Luffy had hooked his arms around the railing and dangled his body off them.

“Yeah once I've made repairs, we’ll be setting sail!” the old man shouted as the Merry drifted off.

“We’ll be waiting for you Zenny pirates!” howled.

The Merry had gotten closer to the marins ship. As they passed the marines, Luffy pointed in the direction of the fog, and both captains looked at each other intensely. The Merry manged to sail through the reefs with ease, however the marines ships all ended up being destroyed.

The Merry saild back out of the dense fog and the sun beamed down on them. Luffy was sat on the railing with Nami standing next to him.

“Good idea leading them into this foggy reef area. You really use your head sometimes Luffy.” Nami smiled at him.

“Huh, what’s that?”

Nami facepalmed. “Oh right, of course you wasn’t thinking at all!”

Aries laughed a little as she sat on the bottom step, under Robin.

“You are such a moron! I take it back I wish I never complemented you!” Nami stomped her foot into the wood.

Usopp and Sanji were both underneath them look quite fed up.

“Its not like he meant for that to happen, was it” Sanji sighed.

“Naa, just dumb luck, he was just pointing In a random direction.” They both shrugged.

Chopper was seeing to Robin and treating her injured head.

“Listen, doctor. How’s the old man really doing? Will he be all right?”

Chopper sighed. “The medicine I gave him will help to control his episodes, but it wont help him from getting any worse. His heart was weak to begin with. And with how old he is, sailing a ship. Not to mention living a pirate’s life.” Chopper looked heartbroken. However, Luffy popped out of Nami's tangerine trees.

“Will you stop worrying. The old goat man said he wanted to be a pirate. So, let him be one” Luffy smiled and stepped out from the trees. “Besides, once the old man sets out to sea he might find an island that has a cure for his illness. Then everything will be fine.

“I guess so”

“I don’t think we have much to worry about” everyone looked at Zoro who was lying on his side near the steps he was resting his injured head in his hand. “That old guys not gonna croak that easily. Maybe he does have a weak heart, but he has plenty of guts to make up for it” he grinned.

“Zoro's right Chopper, we’ll see Zoro again.

Chopper looked at Luffy and then a smile went across his face. “You bet”

“WE’LL BE WAITNG FOR YOU! ZENNY PIRATES!” Luffy and Chopper shouted at the top of their lungs.

 

* * *

 

 

_Blood just kept coming out of the wound, it wouldn’t stop. This was her fault after all. Fuck all she had to do was keep moving then none of this would be happening._

**_So what if he dies, its not like you haven’t killed innocent lives before…and like you say, is anyone truly innocent_ ** _._

_The voices screamed in her head._

_Blood continued to gush out. Not surprising she did go for a kill shot, right into the cardiac arteries. The gash started at his right collar bone, going up to behind his ear_

_“Dammit! There was only one way to save him, but in doing so could cause…screw it I don’t care!” she pulled a small blade from the side of her combat boot, she pressed it hard against her left palm and cut down it. As the blood poured out she pressed it against the is neck, pressing down hard._

_“Just hold on”_

Aries shot up, sweat dripping down her skin. She looked around the room and say that Nami and Robin were asleep in their bed. She placed her hand to her head and tried to catch her breath.

 _Damnit._ Aries sighed.

Aries got out of her make shift bed and slowed headed to the top of the deck. once outside she rested on the railing and looked out to the starry sky.

“Fuck sake”

“What’re you doing?” a deep voice came out of know where.

Aries looked around but couldn’t see who it came from, she then looked up to the crow’s nest and saw Zoro looking down at her. He jumped down and as he did she walked up to him with a mischievous smirk on her face. As she got to him, he saw the smirk on her face and didn’t looked very amused.

Aries placed her left hand on his left shoulder, walking behind him while her tail gently brushed underneath his jaw. As she walked her hand brushed against him, she stood in front of him, she had to look up a little due to her being 5’8”, she left her hand on his right shoulder for a moment.

“Haven’t go the chance to speak to you in private, Zoro~” she spoke softly moving her left hand up to his face. However, he quickly grabbed it, Aries tutted and moved her other hand to his face, but he grabbed that one as well.

“What’s wrong?... Not happy to see me?” she asked with a smile.

Zoro didn’t say anything just staring at her unsurely. Aries tutted and pushed him into the mast, moving her face closer to him while smiling, he grunted a little before looking her dead in the eyes. Aries had crossed her arms, making his cross over his chest and she pushed down with was strength she had gotton back.

“I appreciate you not saying anything about what you saw back then” she spoke quietly.

“Not like I really had a choice. Plus, it isn't my place to speak of it”. He grunted.

Aries smile softly and pushed off him.

“How long are you planning on staying?” Zoro asked as he leaned against the mast.

“Do you want to get rid of me that bad? You weren’t like this that one time~” she spoke sultry turning around and giving him a wink and a smile.

“That’s not what I meant!” he snapped comically.

“Relax” she laughed. Then there were a few seconds of silence.

Aries sighed. “Your doctor won’t let me leave until I’ve healed, I said to him that I would stay, and as much as I hate it, I’m a woman of my word… So, it looks like your stuck with me. ~” Aries placed her arms across her chest. “But I’m thinking of leaving after I get the all clear.” Aries started to trail off. She turned her head to the left, looking at the half moon shimmer of the sea

As her head turned Zoro saw the scar on her neck, Aries saw him looking at her from the corner of her eye. She turned her head back and put her hand on the side of her neck and gave a weak smile.

“T-ha, it’s the past…I deserve it. Call it karma…I’m _trying_ to move on, I really am. So, forget it” She smiled again with her hand on her neck.

“Is that why you did that to your back?” he asked suddenly.

Aries stood there, then sat down resting her back on the railing. “Like I said, _trying_ to move on” she spoke quickly but Zoro gave her a suspicious look.

There was a short pause before she spoke again. “Besides…” she cleared her throat. “I thought you was the captain at the first. I must admit, I was shocked to find out that the Monkey-boy was your captain”. She laughed slightly.

“Heh. He may be an idiot at times… but he's a good captain”

“Hum, Again. It was quite surprising to find out that you were a pirate as well, last time I saw you was with Yosaku and Johnny, hunting down bounties”.

“A lot has happened”.

“Tell me about it” Aries leaned her head back, staring up into the stars. She pulled her left get up and rested her arm on it.

_Maybe I’ll try and get some sleep out here_

Aries closed her eyes, and she could hear Zoro climbing back up the mast. A slight smile went across her face, as darkness took over her.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

> – The Next Morning –

Nami walked out to the deck on the warm sunny day, it was still early in the morning, only 3 members were still asleep. Nami was standing outside of the kitchen door looking at the breath-taking view. She looked around the ship, she saw Zoro pulling weights on the left side of the deck, Robin was reading a book and drinking some coffee near the head of the ship.

Nami saw Aries sleeping at the other side of the ship, she had a look of irritation on her face. Nami slowly walked up to her, Nami bent down and tapped her slightly on the shoulder.

“Aries?” Nami questioned.

Nami tapped her on the shoulder again. “Ari-” she was cut off by the sudden motion of Zoro pulling her back and putting his right arm in front of her face.

“The hell” she hissed.

Zoro didn’t say anything.

“Huh? whatcha want?” Aries asked groggily with slight irritation.

“You were drooling” Zoro said casually as he went back to pulling his weights.

Aries put her hand on her mouth trying to see if she was drooling. “Fuck you! there’s nothing there asshole!” she hissed embarrassingly, she could feel her face growing hot.

Nami sat there with her knees up and her weight pressed onto her hands that were at the back of her, looking dumbfounded.

Aries looked at her puzzling “something wrong?”

Nami looked at her “Eh, you just looked cold”

Aries got up, with Nami coping. “Everything’s fine” she said with an edge in her voice. “Just need some coffee” Aries spoke as she walked off to the kitchen, while looking at her hand weirdly and rubbing it.

Nami looked at Zoro rubbing his right arm and saw a reddy-purple mark, as she looked at him it suddenly clicked.

Nami rubbed her head and she gulped, she was about to say something but was cut off when Chopper came up to her.

In the kitchen Aries was sat at the table drinking her coffee, with her head held low.

“Everything all right Aries my dear~?” Sanji pondered.

Aries slowly raised her head up to look at him. “T-eh, yeah just tiered, that’s all” she gave him a wiry smile.

Later in the day everyone was relaxing on the deck, robin was reading a news paper that had just come.

Aries was sat on the side of the ship looking out to the sea, Luffy, Chopper and Usopp where messing around like usual, while Zoro was pulling his weights outside the kitchen.

Aries was minding her own business when she suddenly felt something bounce of her shoulder.

“huh?”

Aries wasn’t the only one who noticed it as well, as Zoro was looking around. “Is it raining?”

Sanji and Usopp put their hands out. “Its not rain” Sanji spoke.

“Is it hail?” Usopp followed.

“No somethings falling from…”

“”HUH?!” Everyone looked up.

Above them was a gigantic galleon was falling down on them. Everyone looked completely shocked.

“Falling from the sky…!” Luffy blurted out with widend eyes.

Usopp and choppers eyes pratically popped out of their heads. It was a complet bombshell for aries as she sat there with widedn eyes.

“A HUGE GALLEON!?!?” Namie screamed.

“WHY?!” the cig fell from Sanji’s open mouth.

As the ship smashed into the sea it sent out shockwaves that made the sea crazy. Giant waves rocked the ship from side to side. Aries would have ended up over broad if it haven’t been Luffy wrapping his arm around her waist as he wrapped his other arm around the mast. He brought her into the ship and she grabbed onto the railing.

“EVERBODY GRAB A HOLD OF THE SHIP!”

“WHATS GOING ON?!” Nami shouted.

“IT’S A DREAM! IT MUST BE A NIGHTMARE!” Usopp screamed.

“NIGHTMARE?!WHAT A RELIEF!” Chopper gasped.

"IS THAT A FUCKING SHIP?!" Aries gasped.

“TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!” Nami screeched.

“HOW CAN WE DO THAT WITH THESES WAVES?!?” Zoro shouted.

“LUFFY PROTECT THE SHIP, I CAN’T TAKE ANYMORE!” Sanji held onto the railing like his light depended on it.

“Okay! Huh? Usopp?” Luffy looked at Usopp, who was in a state of meditation.

“Don’t worry! Just pray like me, close your eyes, then slowly rise your hand and then open them…”. “see its just a peaceful morning.” Usopp then opened his eyes, however his heart dropped when he did. “AHH IT’S A SKELETON!!!!” a skeleton was inches away from his face.

“DONT THROW THAT NASTY THING AT ME YOU IDOT!” Nami screached.

“THERE FALLING EVERYWHERE!” Sanji shouted.

“THIS IS CRAZY!” Aries held onto the mast like her life depended on it.

 

The crew continued to freaked out as more of the ship came crashing down around them. Once settled they all got their bearings.

“Why did a ship fall from the sky?!” Luffy looked up holding on to his hat.

“Too weird...” Sanji looked up.

“There’s nothing up there…” Zoro crossed his arms over his chest.

Usopp was hugging Chopper while they both looked terrafied. “I knew coming to the Grand Line was a mistake, it just freaks me out!”

“Wha?!”

“What’s wrong Nami?!” Sanji asked.

“The log pose…! Its broken! Its pointing up, not even moving around!” Nami was looking at the log pose on her wrist with a panicked look.

“That’s not right, there’s another magnetic field. Its changing the direction of the needle. If its pointing up it means… it must have locked onto Sky Island…!” robin spoke and looked up to the sky.

 


	12. Salvage Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I uploaded this, it took some off. Ive re-added it at the ending. Apologies

“Sky Island?!” Everyone shouted.

“Are you serious?” Nami spoke.

“There's a floating island up there?!” Luffy practically had stars in his eyes.

“If there is one, its full of skeletons and rickety old ships!” Usopp trembled.

“Thats ridicules” Zoro crossed his arms over his chest and looked up. “I don’t see anything but sky”

“That;s not exactly how it works. Its not an islands above us, but an entire ocean” Robin gestured with her hands.

As Robin spoke this Luffy, Usopp and Chopper looked at her in awe, with their mouths hung open and eyes became wide with excitement

“Now thats just crazy talk” Aries waved her hand dismissively as she sat back on the edge of the ship.

“Im still…confused…”Sanji replaced the cig that dropped.

Luffy pointed to the sky with a massive grin on his face” YEAH! Raise the sail and set our course to Sky Island! Men are we ready?!”

“Put the rudder down and put the bow high into the side” Usopp shouted with excitement.

“HARD TURN SKYWARD!” they both shouted.

Robin sighed. Luffy was struggling on the floor as robin used her devil fruit to shut him up, while Usopp was standing next to his with his arm over his eyes crying.

“In any case, we cant point the helm up, captain” Sanji huffed.

“Actually, to tell the truth, I've never seen any Sky Island. And I don’t know much about it” Robin continued.

“If you’ve never seen it, then how do you know its not just made up” Aries leaned a little forward.

“Of course not!” Nami chimed in. “Its impossible! Islands and seas floating in the sky…the log pose is just broken, thats alll” Nami spoke dismissively.

“No, Navigator-san. What you should think of now is not how to fix a broken log pose, but how you are going to get to sky island.”

Nami gulped.

“No matter what bizarre circumstances your ship should encounter, no matter what panic should befall you, you must not doubt the log pose. That is an iron-clad rule. On this sea, if there is something to doubt, its your own common sense.”

Nami looked at her log pose with a conflicted facial expression.

“Where that needle point, you will find an island”

The needle of the log pose kept hitting the glass. Aries looked at them interestingly.

Not long after the boys had gotten a coffin out of the sea and once on bored Robin opened it. Aries was sat next to her, she was swatting with her knees in her chest and her arm wrapped around them, looking at the skeleton.

 _Hum, these bones look somewhat edible…_ Aries thought. She then shacked her head a little to try and get the thought out.

Chopper was doing a poor excuse of hiding behind the mast. “She opened the casket…Whats she doing?” he panicked

Nami was also hiding behind the mast, she was waving her arm about to try and get the log pose back to normal.

Robin was slowly putting the pieces of broken skull back together

“Will you find anything out?” Zoro asked.

“Don;t know” She replied.

“You have some nasty hobbies!” Nami blurted out.

“Seeing a beautiful body next to a deceased one is a quaint sight in itself." Sanji spoke gently.

Aries leaned in a little closer. “Is it bad that its making me hungry?”

“YES IT IS!” Nami shouted.

Zoro suddenly realized something, and he looked up. “Wheres Luffy?”

He looked out to sea and saw Luffy and Usopp jumping across the slowly sinking ship. “What are they up to now?” Zoro scratched his head.

“They said they were exploring” chopper replied.

Robin placed the constructed skull on the floor. She pointed out 2 holes in the head, something doctors use to do to get rid of brain tumors, but that practice is very old and not used anymore. After Robin finished discussing everything she found out Aries was impressed that she found all that out from some bones. Nami seemed impressed as well, then she suddenly heard shouting coming from Luffy and Usopp, there she saw Luffy drowning in the sea.

“”WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”

“LUFFY HOLD ON!” Usopp shouted

“Sebe mi!” (Save me)

 

* * *

 

 

Once Luffy and Usopp where back on the ship Luffy had a massive grin on his face. “Oi guys” he breathed heavy. “I did it! I found something great! Look at this!” Luffy pulled out a slight wet map.

“A map of Sky Island?!” most of them shouted.

Luffy handed the map to Nami. “Skypiea?”

“See? See?” Luffy grinned.

“So there really is an island in the sky?”

“Cant be...right? Its gotta be a trick” Aries looked at the map from over Nami’s shoulder.

Luffy and Usopp hooked their arms around each others neck with Chopper sitting between their heads. They were practically jumping around with joy. “Sky Island does exist, A dream island. We’ere going to a dream island” they chanted

“Your celebrating too early, its still only a possibility” Naim sighed. “The words full fake maps”

As soon as Nami said this the younger boy’s faces looked at her horrified.

“A-ah, sorry It exist, it exist!” Nami panicked “It exist, but..” Nami punched the metal covering the mast. “Listen Luffy! I don’t know how to get there!” she shouted with a angry look.

“Ah, Nami…go easy on the ship” Usopp blurted out.

“Your a navigator! Figure it out!” Luffy shouted back.

“There are things I can and cant do!” She placed her fist on her hips.

“Nami-swan is so cute when shes mad<3” Sanji had hearts in his eyes.

“I don’t care! We’er going to Sky island!”

Nami’s eye twitched and she suddenly landed quite a few punches to Luffy.

Aries was still sat on the side, she put her elbow on her leg and placed her chin in the palm of her hand, with an amused look on her face. “T-eh, she quite the spitfire, isn't she?”

“You have no idea” Zoro sighed as he leaned against the side.

“This is getting ups nowhere! In any case, we cant possibly continue on like this. What we need to do now is exactly what Robin said, information” Nami leaned against the side. “ If that giant ship really was in the sky, then there must be a way for out ship to get there too.”

Luffy was laid on the floor with his leg slightly twitching.

“We need to get onto that ship and pull out any documents or records left” She continued.

“But the ship’s completely sunk by now” Usopp pointed out.

Nami put her hand in a fist. “If its sunk, then we’ll salvage it!”

“YOSH!” Usopp and Luffy put their hands in the air, while their over hand was holding onto some fishing nets.

“YOU CANT USE THOSE!” Zoro barked.

“Salvage?” Chopper asked Robin.

“its a method of bringing up ships that have sunk” Aries was listing intently. “But we cant bring that ship up, its too big” She continued.

“No problem! Usopp, make something!” Nami smiled.

“What? Why me?”

“Cos you good at making stuff right?”

Usopp sighed.

“I wanna go down there!” Luffy shouted.

“Hey long nose, make me one as well” Aries grinned.

Usopp sighed again and went to get started.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, hey, hey, hey” Luffy smiled from inside his barrel. “you do make us do some crazy things”

“Eh” Zoro just sighed.

Sanji threw his arms above his barreled covered head. “NAMI-SWAN<3! I’m absolutely going to find you a clue about getting to Sky Island~”

“I'm counting on you” she smiled.

“Dont Worry Ari-chan! Ill make sure nothing happens to you~”

“Heh…thanks…” she spoke with slight irritation.

“Don't worry about a thing, my design is flawless.” Usopp spoke proudly.

 _M-maybe this was a bad idea…_ Aries looked a little anxious.

“Whats wrong Ari-chan?”

Aries looked to the side and saw Sanji was looking at her.

“Oh, n-nothing! Just cant wait!” She smiled weakly.

 _Snap outta it…jeez. My hole body ins't covered! My legs are free!!!_ Aries brought her arms out of the arm protectors and slapped her face a little.

The group looked out to the sea and saw two pterodactyl fly across and suddenly a massive fish looking creature broke the surface and grabbed one of them in its mouth and submerge again. Usopp and Choppers mouth hung open in horror.

“Well, good luck” Nami stuck her thumb up.

“Hopeful that wont happen to us” Aries mused.

“Shishishishis”

“DON'T JINX IT! Usopp and Chopper shouted in unison.

The four of them went overboard and was slowly lowed into the ocean. “We’ll be praying for you” Nami spoke quickly.

* * *

 

As they started to go further in to the ocean,  Aries could feel like they were surrounded, as they went further down she could start to see giant sea creatures underneath them.

“Oh shit”

Aries could hear what the other's where saying. Suddenly she could hear something. “This is Chopper, try answering guys”

“Here. I wonder if we can kill one an eat it” Aries asked to no one in particular. She could hear the quite voices of Nami and Usopp, she she tuned them out.

 They eventually got there and Aries managed to lose track of the others. She drifted around the broken ship, she landed on to the sea floor, she could feel the sand moved between the toes on her right foot. Aries looked down and saw a picture frame, she grabbed it but the empty frame crumbled apart. Aries walked on the sea bed and her foot hit something. Aries went forward a little and as she did water rushed in, she managed to quickly get herself right but the water had already come up to her waist a little. She grumbled and looked at what her foot hit, there she saw it was another harpoon.

Aries looked around and all she saw was darkness, she could vaguely see the outlines of the sea monsters swimming around. She eventually made her way towards the inner of the ship, she came through a big hole in the side of the ship and saw saw Sanji looking at something, Aries swam up to him and saw he was looking at a picture of a woman, but it had a broken harpoon through the side of her head. Aries could feel the bottom of her shorts kept coming up thanks to the water.

He looked up to her and gave a smile, she gave a small smile back and stood up with Sanji coping. Aries turned to the hole and saw Zoro and Luffy swim thought. They looked around the room and saw another skeleton on the floor with another harpoon thought its head. Zoro pulled a half broken harpoon out and Luffy tapped him on the arm and showed him a locked chest.

They made their way to the chest and Zoro was hinting the lock and it eventually came broke, they all braced themselves and was quite disappoint when the chest was revealed to be empty. All that was there was a feather. Aries moved in front of Zoro wand tried to pick up the feather but she could pick it up to the water and the gloved. She hissed and kicked the chest with her left foot causing it to brake apart and fall thorough he floor. She turned around and saw the other looking at her. Aries smiled a little awkwardly and placed her hand behind her barrel covered head.

Suddenly the ship started to rock, Aries crashed into Zoro, she was behind it with her arms over the top of his barrel. She looked around and the floors had, what looked like metal hooks coming through them. Zoro suddenly stood up taking Aries off guard and fell back a little. He turned to look at her a little irritatingly, she saw that he had a red mark on his forehead and she smiled a little apologetically and stuck her tongue out at him.

The four of them walked towards to one of the metal spikes that had come thought the floor. Aries got close to it and air suddenly came though. This caused her to get pushed back a bit and more water came into her barrel, she managed to right herself again.

Aries suddenly shot her attention to the hole on the wall next to them and saw someone there. The other's followed her gaze and they all stood there looking at each other. The one in the iron suit was about to grab his weapon when Luffy, who was the closer to him, punched him. Another two came in after him, Aries punched one of them, maybe a little to hard as it left a fist print in the metal, the other one looked like he was shouting to someone but Luffy had landed another punch to him, making his bounce off the inside of the side and he fell unconscious.

“Look! We can take off the barrels” Luffy smiled as he squatted on top of his barrel.

Zoro was standing crossed arms, next to his barrel with his octopus friend on his shoulder. “They sure pumped in a lot of air. But who the hell’s trying to lift this thing?”

Sanji stood there trying to light another cig. “Nothing better’ve happened to Nami-san or Robin-chan! I tried calling them, but they didn’t answer!” he panicked.

Aries had taken her barrel off, as she did she rinsed the bottom of her t-shirt off. She then took of her shorts and rinsed them off.

“AH Ari-chan!” Sanji swoon.

Aries stood there in a pair of female, black coloured short briefs. She sat down on her barrel and waved the shorts about.

"What heppend to your leg?" Luffy asked.

"None of yeah business" She hissed in annoyance.

She managed to get them somewhat dried and put them back on. She turned around and she suddenly felt a pain shoot around her body.

“DAMMIT!” she went to the floor and turned around and saw Luffy had stood on the end of her tail.

“Ari-chan! What’s wrong?!”

Aries had slight tears in the corner of her eyes. “That fucking hurts!” Aries punched Luffy in the foot.

“Ahh! That hurts!”Luffy grabbed his foot and feel to the floor.

“Now you know how it feels!” She hissed

“Wait, What?” Sanji asked. But before anyone could say anything something pouched thought the side of the ship.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! Who’s trying to muscle I on my turf.?!”

Everyone looked at the…man? Who had just busted thorough the wall of the ship.

“Ah, a monkey” Luffy blurted out.

As he said this the seriousness in his face suddenly shifted to that of a happy person and he started to blush. “Do I really look that monkeyed over?!”

“Yep, just like a monkey”

“Defo” Aries wiped the water out of her eyes and sat on the floor.

“What kind of conversation is this?” Zoro asked.

“What d’ya mean?” Luff looked at him.

“By the way who are you?” Sanji asked.

“Oh yeah, how careless of me! But do you seriously think so? You have an eye for quality!”

“Hey, we asked who you were!” Zoro bit.

“The hell…” Aries looked annoyed.

Aries watched at the captain and the human…monkey? Had gotten into a friendly convention.

“Is he always this simple minded?” Aries asked Sanji.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

 

* * *

 

“Oh! So you guys came from the East Blue!”

“Thats right! But man, you really look like a monkey!”

“Aw, you’re just saying that!”

Zoro was holding to the octopus while Sanji was sat on the side of his barrel, with Aries leaning on it next to him. “Wasn’t he pissed when he came down?” she asked.

“Yep” Sanji sighed.

 

After a while Zoro thought it would be best that they left. “C’mon on, we need to get going.” Zoro spoke as he grabbed his bag.

Sanji and Aries copied and grabbed a bag each. As they did the Masira looked at them interestingly.

“It was nice to meet you” Luffy smiled and put a bag over his shoulder.

They was about to put their barrels back on when the ape looking man shot up with a pissed off look.

“What are you doing with those bag?!”

“Huh?” they all said.

“THOES BAGS BELONG TO ME!” He lunged at Luffy.

Luffy dodged out of the way, but Masira left a massive hole in the wall, he turned back to the others and began to rampage. He started to hit his chest like a gorilla, he shot at Aries but before she could do anything Sanji went to kick him. Masira got pushed back a little and he looked even more pissed off.

“Don’t you dare lay a monkey hand on Ari-chan!” Sanji hissed.

Aries hissed in annoyance.

“Aries, grab a bag and grab Luffy, we need to get out of here” Zoro whispered. She reluctantly grabbed both Luffy and two bags. She had shot passed Both Sanji and Masira. They didn’t even noticed she had gone by them, Zoro grabbed a bag and followed.

“Oi Curly-brow!”

“Huh?!”

“Grab a bag and lets go!”

“Don’t give me orders shit head!”

“Don’t bother!”

Sanji put his hands in his pockets and kicked him in the head as hard as he could. As Sanji did Masira went through the floor, Sanji took the opportunity to grab a bag and make his way out. Aries was holding onto Luffy tight. She dragged him along with her as she swam towards the ship, Aries then threw him onto the deck with both bags, she then followed after. Once on deck she saw Nami had run to Luffy and start slapping him in the face, Usopp looked like he had been crying and came over to her. She looked behind her and saw Sanji and Zoro make their way onto the ship.

“ZORO, SANII” Usopp and Chopper spoke.

“Set sail!” Zoro huffed. “We gotta get away from here!”

“That guys trouble” Sanji was breathing heavy.

“He was batshit crazy” Aries breathed.

“I’m so glad you’re all alive” Usopp sighed in relive. “Oh right! Lets get away from that turtle!”

“Huh?” Aries looked at him weirdly as she rested against the side of the shit trying to catch her breath.

“Turtle?” Zoro asked and he cocked his head to the side a bit. “No, there was a monkey in the ocean!” he pointed.

“Sea monkey!” Aries blurted out with a gasp of air.

“Must be some kinda sea monster!” Sanji pulled the wet cig out of his mouth.

“He and Luffy became friends really fast…” he sighed.

“They're both monkeys!” Sanji spoke suddenly

“After we picked up this stuff from that ship, he started rampaging!” Zoro tugged on the bag.

“Rampaging like a gorilla!”

“It was fucking weird I can tell you that” Aries got up.

“That weirdo’s Masira, a salvager!” Usopp clarified.

Nami was in the background slapping Luffy, still trying to get him awake.

“But its amazing you escaped from that turtles mouth!” he continued.

“Turtle? What turtle?” the three of them spoke. Aries looked behind her and froze where she stood. Her mouth hung open a little.

“huh? The turtles acting weird. Its just staring with its moth open…” As Usopp spoke both Zoro and Sanji turned around. “That’s how you guts escaped!”

“THE FUCK IT THAT!” Aries gasped.

“WHAT THE HELL'S THAT!” Sanji and Zoro spoke again.

“NOTICE THESES THNG'S!” Usopp bit. “That thing ate you along with the whole ship!”

Aries walked up to upper deck and stood next to Robin, The boys had started to get the sail down and Luffy suddenly woke and stood up. “huh? How come its night time?” he asked while looking around.

“Luffy! Come help me!” Zoro shouted. “We gotta get outta here!”

“HOLD IT!” Masira suddenly shot out of the ocean and landed on the side of the ship. “YOU GUYS!”

They others just looked at him.

“You guys better not think you’ll get away with barging one to Masira-sama’s turf and steal treasure!”

“Treasure?” Nami clapped her hands and smiled from ear to ear. “You found treasure? <3”

“Shishishi. Yosh, there was tons!” Luffy smiled.

Zoro grabbed Wado’s hilt and was ready for a fight.

Everyone suddenly froze. They looked out to the side and saw a gigantic shadow in the sky. The figures had wings on their back and two of them where holding on to spear like weapons wile the middle on was holding onto a sword.

Nearly everyone's mouths hit the floor. Aries looked up, for once in her live she was speechless, she had never seen anything like this before, she didn’t no what to make of it. Most of the straw hats looked mortified, even the turtle looked it. the figures suddenly raised its arms and looked like it was about to throw its spear at them.

“MONSTER!” Luffy and Masira shouted.

Suddenly the ship suddenly shot out of there, due to the quick motion Aries ended up having her face smash into the railing of the ship. Once she got her baring back she saw that they had gotten back under the sun. She stood up and wiped the blood from her nose and saw that the boys where resting either on the floor or against the side, and was breathing heavy. She then made her way down, her hand still under her nose.

“They couldn’t have been real…” Zoro huffed out.

“Those things…were too huge to be real” Usopp breathed.

Sanji lit a match and put it to his cig. “Man, the Grand Line is just a big parade of one mysterious thing after another…Just today…”

“A giant galleon falls down on us…” Zoro continued.

“The log pose’s needle points up into the sky…” Nami followed as she hugged her knees.

“Some weird monkey comes and raises the ship…”Usopp spoke.

“But then a giant turtle comes and gobbles up the ship…” Chopper converse.

“Night falls” Robin closed her eyes and placed her head in her hand.

“And then giant monsters, a hundred times bigger then the giants appear!” Luffy shouted.

“Never seen anything like that before…” Aries sat down between Zoro and Nami.

“Yeah, that sure was scary, I can tell you.”

Silence fell over everyone, suddenly it clicked and Zoro, Sanji and Luffy got up and kicked him high into the sky. “GET OFF!”

“HA! Man, I’m loving this!” Ares blurted out.

“WHATS THERE TO LOVE!?” Nami cried.

 

* * *

 

The guys had emptied the bags onto the deck, Aries finished emptying one bag and started to look though the pile.

“Come __on__ , you guys!” Nami placed her hands on her hips. “Just was were you looking for down there?”

Aries noticed Luffy walking around in a full set of armour while holding a rusted up sword.

“You just brought back a bunch of trash” She continued. “There;s not a single clue here about getting to the sky!”

“There was nothing down there. Nothing”

“All that was there was bones and freaking harpoons…” Aries folded her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, he right Nami-san” Sanji puffed out some smoke, remembering what he found on the ship. “The ship looked like it had been attacked. Or else, maybe a mutiny erupted of some reason and they killed each other.”

“That’s exactly why its no important that we gather information!” Nami barked. “Don’t you get it? If we’re going to go to the sky, whatever happened to that ship might happen to us too! Information means the difference between life and death!”

Nami looked at the pile and pointed to it. “What’s with these rust swords? Cooking pots?” She then pointed to the mast. “And a live Octopus?!”

Nami looked at her then back to the boys. “We need journals and maps! That kind of stuff!” Nami started kicking the pile of trash. As she did Zoro and Sanji put thier arms out and was shouting at her to stop.

Nami then turned her attention to poor Luffy. “And what is that, Luffy?”

Luffy opened the visor o the helmet. “Armour” He had stars in his eyes.

Aries looked on in horror as the boys joy was crushed, like the armour he wore, as Nami laid into him.

“She smashed the armour!” Zoro looked on in unbelief. Luffy looked like he just went though whiplash.

“Look, Nami-san, I brought you some pretty shells<3” he blushed slightly as he handed her the shells.

“I don’t want them, you dork” She walked passed with a pissed off look.

“Nami-san’s so cute when she’s angry~”

“Give it up, you should stay away from here” Usopp waved his hand dismissively.

Aries looked quite unnerved and a bit of cold swear went down the back of her neck. “She’s such a demon”

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Nami shot around.

“NOTHING!” Aries nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Having a rough time?” Robin asked as she sat on the side of the ship, she had her legs crossed and rested her head in her hands.

“Its only gonna get rougher” she sighed. “I really am surrounded by idiots!” she face-palmed. “Now we have no idea where to go”

Robin then handed her a Eternal log pose. “Here” she smiled.

“Eh? An Eternal pose…”

“I took it from that monkey’s ship…Just in case.”

Nami had started to tremble and then tears fell down her face. She looked up with stars in her eyes. “You’re the only one I can depend on!”

“OI, this is an octopus, right?” Luff came up behind her. “Lets make takoyaki!”

“Things certainty are stressful for you…” Robin looked sympathetic.

“Jaya?” Nami looked at the Eternal pose. “This must be their headquarters.”

“Jaya?” Luffy spoke with a mouth full. “We going there?”

“That’s what you decide, nimwitt!” She bit.

Luffy jumped down from the railing. “YOSH! HARD TURN TO JAYA!”

Silence fell over everyone.

“Nami, which way is it?” he asked.

“To starboard”

“Chopper, help out”

“Right!”

“Onward to Jaya!”

Usopp looked up from his takoyaki. “Oi, Hold on. If we go to that Jaya place, wont the log pose change its course again? Which means we wont be able to go to sky!”

“EH!” Chopper yelled.

“UNTURN TO JAYA!” Luffy panicked. “OI, Nami! What was that for?!”

“What? Your the one who decided to go to Jaya”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. But I didn’t think that would happen!”

“Its your fault for not thinking! That’s how the log pose has always been!”

“Oh yeah. You’re right. Yosh, listen up! I’m the captain, so I decide our course. And I wanna go to Sky Island!”

“Okay, how?

“We should properly ask someone” Usopp spoke with takoyaki in his hands

“Yeah, lets go ask someone.” Luffy shoved more takoyaki into his mouth.

“The how about Jaya?” Nami asked.

“Yosh! Hard turn to Jaya!”

“We already did” Usopp hit him in the back of his head.

Aries looked on in awe. Awe at how they managed to survive with a captain like that. “Is this a comedy routine?”

 

* * *

 

 

Aries came out of the kitchen with a glass of water and saw Sanji was running around the mast, holding onto something, with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper running after him. She stood there and saw Zoro looking up to the sky then Robin approached.

“But…is there really an island in the sky?” he spoke.

“Our experience so far has shown us nothing different. Regardless of the fact that it goes against common sense, there's no reason to doubt it. That’s the common sense of this seas.

“T-eh, Im looking forward to go to “Sky Island”…” Zoro and Robin looked at Aries who had a smirk on her face.


	13. Seeing Purple In Mock Town

 

 

 

> **_\- Straw Hat Ship, Many Hours Later -_ **

With hours passing and still no sign of Jaya, Aries was getting a little agitated. She walked around the ship a little till she saw some weights, she grabbed one and made her way to the back of the ship. She had taken off what bandages she had left on and she began to lift the weight. However as she kept lifting it the more agitated she became. After about 10 minutes she put the waits down and sighed heavily to herself. She got up and paced her left elbow on the railing and rested her head in the crack of her elbow, she dangled her right arm over the railing.

"AGGH!" Aries walked down to the deck and saw Nami standing outside the kitchen looking at her log pose.

"Cant see it Usopp?" Nami shouted.

"I haven't seen it yet!" he shouted back.

Nami looked to the side of her and saw Aries approaching her.

"Red, how long do you think it'll be" Aries practically begged her.

"Huh, I don't know"

Aries placed her arm and head back and the railing and dangled her right arm over the railing again.

"Whats wrong?"

"I need land…" she whined.

"It shouldn't be so far away right?" Zoro looked out to sea. "That monkey-man said that area back there was his territory."

"Hmm. The weather has been steady for a while, we are properly in Jaya's weather area." Nami rested her hands on the same railing Aries was on.

Aries slowly lifted her head when suddenly 3 seagulls fell on the deck, right in front of Chopper.

Chopper just looked at them then a second later it kicked in.

"AHH! THEY WERE SHOT!" chopper shouted.

"Oh! BBQ material! Luffy blurted out.

"I could go for some BBQ" Aries licked her lips.

Chopper rushed to the birds and pulled out a bullet with his forceps. "Look, a bullet!" he raised it. "Judging from the angle of descent, it was fried from the direction in front of the ship."

"Shooting from an island that we cant see yet?" Nami looked out with her hands above her eyes. "Chopper that's impossible!"

Luffy had picked up the birds and made his way to Sanji. Aries walked to Nami and chopper.

"But I was watching them"

"Well, they'll be useful, by filling our stomachaches" Aries put the thumbs up at him.

"Ha.. that'd have to be one hell of a sniper, with one hell of a gun, and one hell of an eyesight. I'm sure those birds were shot while someplace else and only happened to fall down now" Usopp looked out from the crows nest.

 

* * *

 

 

 

> _**\- 20 minutes passed. And they had finally started to see Jaya come into view -** _

Aries had walked out of the storage room, she had gotten changed into a pair of mid grey coloured, slight baggy, feminine style joggers,with them coming in tight around the ankles, she wore a slightly big-ish white t-shirt, she had tied it a little at the right side. She had wrapped her tail around her left leg. She wore a pair of black and white sneakers that came up to the bone on her ankle.

She walked to the others with her hands in the pockets and a smile grew on her face as she saw what kinda island they where going to dock at.

"WHOA!"

"Awesome! That place looks like one fun town to me!"

"Whoa, it looks like a mini-resort…!" Usopp's mouth hung wide open.

"Finally! Some land!" Aries nearly collapsed in relive.

"A resort?!" Chopper jumped onto the railing.

"Faster Merry!" Luffy was sat on the figure head and slapped it.

"You're right! Id love to go and take it easy for a little while." Nami looked at the island coming more into view.

"Huh? Are those pirates ships?" Aries cocked her head a little, and a slight smile went across her face.

"Your right, nearly all of them are, right?" Usopp joined in.

"Don't be silly you two! There's no way pirate ships would brazenly dock right in front of the town" Nami slapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Haha I guess your right" he replied.

"What about that island called Knrya? That had two cities, one where pirates could come and go." Chopper spoke uneasily.

Nami and Usopp looked at him a little worriedly. As they came closer they could hear shouting from all over the place.

"MURDER!" the voices screamed.

"WHATS WRONG WITH THIS TOWN!" Nami, Usopp and Chopper cried.

The Merry had docked and Luffy, Zoro and Aries had gotten off. They looked around and saw that the town was a in complete chaos. People where drinking, fighting or hitting on some women, some even getting pulled into alleyways, and not to mention the two dead bodies off to the side of the docks, there was blood splattered on the walls teeth on the floor, even some guts.

"Theres a lotta people here" Luffy placed his hand on his hat.

"Seems like a pretty fun town" Zoro grinned.

Nami was hiding behind the railing at the front of the ship with Usopp and Chopper, when when noticed Aries at the corner of her eyes, she had her hand to her mouth and looked to be trembling a little.

"Aries? Whats wrong?" she sounded a little worried.

"Huh?" Zoro and Luffy spoke as they looked back.

Aries saw standing there, with tears in her eyes and her hand to her mouth. "This towns amazing…I think I've died and gone to heaven"

"WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Usopp and Nami snapped comically.

"Shishishi"

Zoro just looked a little dumbfounded.

Zoro and Luffy walked off with Aries who practically had a spring in her step.

Nami watched as they had started to walk away. "Its impossible… There's just no way those two are not gonna cause trouble! Not to mention the way Aries reacted…I'vegot a feeling shes going to be the same."

"Yeah, that town already looks like trouble. There's no way. Not now. Not ever" Usopp had started to sweat a little.

"Well I cant just leave them be!"

Nami jumped off the ship and started to run to them.

Aries stepped in the middle of the two of them with a smile on her face.

"Why are you smiling?" Zoro asked.

"Well, why not?" she stuck her tongue out.

"Wait! Luffy! Zoro! Aries!"

The the three of them looked behind and saw Nami running up to them. Aries was nibbling the tip of her thumb a bit as she looked around with hunger in her eyes. Nami looked quite unnerved with the look she had in her eyes, the look of someone who was on the hunt.

"Right!" the three of them looked at her. "Before we go any further I need you to do something for me" Nami cocked her nip to the side a bit and crossed her arms over her chest.

The three of them just looked at her weirdly.

 

* * *

 

"I solemnly swear, not to fight in the town" Luffy spoke.

"Good, that's a promise you two!"

"Uh huh" they both replied.

"Whats with that uninterested reply?!" The moment you start trouble in the town we wont be able to stay here any longer!" she yelled.

"That means we cant go to the sky either!" It hit Luffy like a train.

"Yeah, yeah"

Aries was looking off in the distance trying to edge away from her. However she suddenly got a shiver down her spine, she slowly turned around and saw Nami practically shooting her daggers.

"Aries" there was no emotion in her voice.

Aries cocked her head to the side and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Nami stepped closer to her.

Aries could feel a sweat coming on. Her eyes were burning her tainted soul.

"A-rie-s…"

"Ahh dammit! Do I have to?!" she begged.

"YES!" she yelled.

"But I don't wanna…" she pouted a little.

"Ill drag you back to the ship if I have to" Nami looked her dead in the eyes.

Aries edged a little away from her. She nibbled the tip of her thumb a bit. "AHH!" she placed her hands in her pocket and slouched a little. "I solemnly swear, not to fight in this town…"

"Good" she smiled.

Aries sulked slightly as she walked between Luffy and Zoro, just so she could get away from Nami.

They continued to walk when their path was suddenly cut off by some sickly old man falling off his horse.

"Huh, who's he?" Nami asked.

"Look he fell off his horse."

"Yeah, he fell off his horse"

"Way to state the obvious" Aries gently slapped the back of her hands onto Zoro and Luffys shoulders.

"Ugh  _-cough- -cough-"_ the old man started to cough up blood.

"He's coughing up blood."

"Yeah, he's coughing up blood."

"You tow are idiots" Aries rubbed her temples.

"You two…I'm sorry…But…Could you help me back up…?" he sickly spoke.

"You just don't want to stand on your own, don't you?" Zoro exasperated.

Aries started to get bored of the conversation she looked around the messed up town and saw people fighting, every fiber in her body wanted to join in… But a promise is a promise... No matter how tough it is for her. As she looked around, something caught her eyes. She looked off in the distance a little and saw something purple dash behind some buildings. She didn't know why her body had started to move in the direction, but she couldn't stop herself.

She got a few inches away from the group and there was a sudden explosion. She could hear people shouted about how some people bit into some free apples and then they exploded. Aries looked into the direction and saw body parts scattered around, human innards had been thrown about, with some people getting hit by them, said people were vomiting, others due to the sight.

She turned around as saw Luffy had bitten into an apple.

"Eh...?"

"SPOT'EM OUT LUFFY! SPIT OUT THOSE APPLES THIS INSTANT!" Nami had grabbed Luffy by the neck and was shaking his head, desperately and violently.

"GAHH! URP. I-IT'S.. PASSED DOWN MY THROAT ALREADY!" Luffy managed to cough out.

Zoro held onto his katana and had started to draw it out. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?!"

"Ahah… Ha  _-cough-!_  Don't worry…" They three of them eased up a little, but was still on the defensive. "If he picked the wrong one, he would've died on the first bite…" he started to pant. "That's a…safe one…you're…haha… _-cough-! -cough-!_  A real lucky one…" the sick guy gave him a bloody grin.

 

* * *

 

The old guy walked off the the four of them had started to head off, with Nami feeling quite pissed.

"WHATS WITH THIS TOWN!?"

"Eh, don't lose your head over it Nami."

"DON'T LOSE MY HEAD?! DO YOU REALIZED YOU WERE ONE APPLE AWAY FROM LOSING YOURS?!"

"These things happen" Luffy placed his hands behind his head.

"NO THEY DON'T! I'm beginning to doubt we can even find any proper info in a town as weird as this…!"

"I love this place!" Aries blushed slightly with stars in her eyes. "I wanna live here!"

Nami looked at her with exasperation.

"HE'S BEAT DOWN ANOTHER ONE!"

The four of them turned their heads and saw someone standing on top of a building.

"That wrestling Chapman again…!?" someone spoke.

"How many people does that make now?" someone else replied.

"And its not like hes even someone with a price on his head…JUST THO THE HELL IS HE…?" they continued.

"CHAMPION…?"Luffy, Zoro and Aries looked up with fire in their eyes.

"WHAT'ER YOU GETTIN' RILED UP FOR?!" Nami hissed.

 

* * *

 

"Reeeed…Let me take it back…please" Aries leaned on the back of Nami with her arms over Nami's shoulders and rested slightly on Nami chest.

"No" she said firmly.

"Agh!" Aries moved off her.

"Its gonna kill you isnt it?" Zoro spoke, sounding a little amused.

Aries shot her head to him, she looked a little pissed, however that suddenly turned to a smile. "Eh? Your one to talk, you cant go 5 minutes without getting into an argument or fighting… What was that name the Cook gave you?…M…Marimo?" She cocked her head a little and had a smug look on her face.

"What kinda smug look it that!" Zoro bit back.

"Whats wrong? Don't like it?~…" Aries walked closer to him with a smile on her face. "Ma-ri-mo~"

Aries could practically see a vain pop out of his head. "You starting a fight with me?"

"Eh? And what if I am… Ma-ri-mo~"

She saw another vain pop out of his head.

"KNOCK IT OFF" Nami shouted at them. Both of them shot up into a straight posture.

"TSK" Aries hissed and walked towards Luffy with her hands in her pockets.

"Wheres your tail?"

"Eh? I've already told you Monkey" Aries sighed.

Luffy just looked at her with a look saying  _"I wasn't paying much attention"_

Aries sighed, she starched her head and cocked it to the side a little. "I hide it so people wont ask questions. Its pretty distinguishing, and I don't want to be found out"

"By who?"

"People…now drop it…Kay?" she placed her hands back on her pockets.

As the group walked they realised they had come up to some housing.

"What about this place then…?"

"Its not too noisy here.

"Yeah, its actually quiet."

Aries stopped and looked around, the view was quite nice and the warm breeze brushed against her skin.

"...Wow, what a lovely place. I guess even a town as wild as here has a place like this." Nami breathed happily.

"looks at all these villas… its like a floating ocean resort…" Aries spoke.

"I don't see any people around, but I sure can smell something good…"

The group was about to walk further into the place but someone rushed up to them.

"S-sir…? you cant just come in here without permission!" he looked at Luffy and Zoro panicked. "T-this is very troubling for me"

"Hm?" Luffy cocked his head a little.

Aries folded her arms over her chest, she looked at the man and he panicked around with sweat on his four head.

"Our "Tropical hotel", is currently rented out entirely to the Ballamy Pirates." he moved from side to side quite quick, enough to make you want to be sick.

"Hotel? This is a hotel?" Zoro looked around.

"This guys sounds like a douche." Aries bluntly spoke.

"You don't even know who he is..." Nami looked a little dumbfounded.

"I don't have to know him... Its called instinct..."

"Its something all right" Nami sighed.

"I-if Bellamy were to s-s-see you here, it'll be disastrous! So please leave the premises now, if you will-"

"Whats the big deal? We'er just looking around" Luffy sated.

"Who's this Bellamy?"

"Whats wrong?"

The man in front of them almost jumped out of his skin, he looked visibly scared. The four of them watched as a man wearing a big flurry coat approach them, he had his arm around a blond haired girl. As they got closer Aries noticed that he had a symbol in the middle of his chest.

"M-m-mister Sarquiss! I… Umm… No- these four are.."

"Who the hell are these dirty little shits?"

"I don't care what your excuses are, so just drive them out already! How much do you think we'er paying you to rent out this whole place?!" the blond spoke.

"That's right" he looked down at Luffy. "Beat it, kid…!"

"Hey, can I kick his ass?" Luffy turned to Nami and pointed behind with with his thumb.

"NO!" Nami shouted.

 _T-he, I think I'm starting to like this kid._  Aries mused with a smile.

"Ahahaha! Areal Joker aren'cha? You think you can kick my ass…?!" Sarquiss wen into his pocket and pulled out some money. "…Heh you look like such a poor pitiful kid. Take this, use it to buy some nice clothing." he threw the money at Luffys feel.

Nami and Zoro looked really pissed, vain popped out of Aries head as she looked at the man with hatred.

"Sarquiss! The moneys wasted on them" the blond spoke with amusement.

"Hahah…Guess it'd have been better to wipe my ass with those berries!".

"Really? You're giving it to me?" Luffy smile. He was about to bend down to pick them up when Nami had grabbed his face and yanked him away.

"Come on!. We'er leaving this lousy place!" he snapped.

"I can walk on my own" Luffy mumbled out.

Zoro had grabbed Aries around the neck with his arm and place a hand over her mouth and pulled her along. She was trying to shout something to them but all that came out was mumbles, she squirmed about but he had locked her in.

 

* * *

 

They got quite a feet away from the place Aries had stopped resisting and Zoro felt it was safe to let her go, as he did she fell to the floor.

"AHHH! Fucking hate scum like that! Fucking pimp looking scumbag. People like that think there all this and that! Thinking there better then everyone!" Aries looked even more agitated, she had started to bite the top of her thumb again. However she had started to bite it with her canines and in doing so cause it to bleed a bit. Zoro just looked down at her.

Nami and Luffy turned around walked up to them.

"Whats wrong?" Luffy asked.

"I cant take it!" brought her knees up and placed her hands on her head.

"Whats wro-" Nami spoke but was cut off as Aries got up and started to walk away.

"Hey Aries! Where you going?!" Nami was about to go after her when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked back and saw it was Zoro.

"Leave her be for now"

"Eh?"

"AHHHH!"

Nami and Zoro shot their heads to their captain. "Im hungggrrrryyy!" he wined. The both of them sighed heavily looking fed up. They all walked off to get something to eat.

 

* * *

 

Aries walked around the place with one hand in her pocket while she was constantly biting the tip of her thumb. She looked around and saw she was walking into the rougher side of the town. she had too much pent up tension, she needed to get ride of it somehow, but finding a way to satisfy her will be tricky. As she was walking around she saw some of the men and the few women were staring at her as she walked.

 _I could always do that…but…_ Aries looked around, the ones in this part of the town left something to be desired.  _Eh…maybe not._ Aries thought as she rubbed her head.

She stopped in front of a bar and went inside. Inside it was a little dark and there was quite a few people enjoying themselves, they hadn't even noticed her. She sat at the bar and ordered a drink, she picked up the big glass and jugged it down in one go and then ordered another one.

"Heeey gorgeous~ you look lonely, this seat taken~" Aries looked up and saw a lanky, scruffy looking man with a bit of a belly.

"Acually no, but this one" Aries point at her own seat. "Will be empty if you sit there" she had no emotion in her voice.

He completely ignored her and sat down. "C'mon, I just wanna know if it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

"No but it did hurt when you fell from my ass you piece of shit" Aries stood up and downed her drink again, she threw the money on the side and made her way outside.

The man was sat there looking in complete shock, he turned around and saw his buddy laughing at him. He looked back at Aries making her way outside. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, he drank what was left of his drink and told his buddy to follow him.

Outside Aries interlocked her fingers and raised them above her head as she stretched. As she did something caught her eye, she looked to her left and saw purple again. Aries followed it, she got up to the corner and looked around it, as she did nothing was there. She looked down the long alleyway and was the tail end of whatever is was go around another corner. Aries was completely out of it that she didn't released she was being tailed.

Aries jogged a little down the alleyway and once she got to the corner and looked around she saw that the alleyway and opened up a little but, but it was also filled with crates. She walked down it and was looking behind the boxes, once she got a bit down the alleyway she looked straight ahead and saw purple.

Aires saw that it was a purple dress, the dress looked a little scruffy and a little torn. Aries walked a little further and saw that the person inside the dress was an 11-year-old, looking girl. She had ash blond hair that stopped mid back.

Aries stood there not moving.

"Hey"

However the girl didn't say anything. The girl slowly turned her head a bit. all Aries could see was the girls deep brown eyes, the rest of her features was covered by her hair. The look in her eyes was distant and emotionless. Her skin was quite pale and Aries noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

The girl started to walk away and Aries reached her arm out. "Eh, hey wait" she was about to move when she was suddenly pulled around and hit in the face with something hard.

_The fuck!_

It took a moment for two for her to get her bearings, she didn't need to stand herself up as she was dragged to her feet and pinned against the wall. She saw that it was the same person from the bar and that he had brought his buddy. She moved her eyes to where she last saw the girl and noticed she had gone.

Aries was pinned by the throat, she could taste blood, she used her tongue and felt that she had a busted lip.

"Heey gorgeous~" the lanky man spoke.

"TSK" Aries looked unamsused.

"See, this is how its gonna work. We'er gonna take it in turns, and maybe if I feel satisfied afterwards I'll take you back with me~"

"TT I'd rather get my insides burnt out - _again_ -" Aries spat.

"Hey man" another one moved closer to her, he was a bit shorter then the lanky one and seemed more bulkier. "I wanna see the look in your eyes!~" he suddenly yanked her fringe up, causing Aries to hiss a little in pain.

"The hell?" the lanky spoke.

Aries looked at them all, her eyes fully on display. She had such a menacing stare to her that the men got shivers down their spines.

"That kinda freak are you?" the lanky man hissed.

"You think she's eaten a devil fruit, Dan?"

"Fuck knows Carl…shes got a pretty face tho, even with thoses freaky looking eyes." he gripped her throat tighter. Aries gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

Aries eyes widened a little as she felt a hand making its way under her top and grabbing her breast. Her eye witched a little and she suddenly smashed her had into his with such force she felt his skull crack a little. The force send him flying backwards, his friend was complete shocked and gripped the thick metal pipe in his hand and when to take another swing at her, however she just stood there and grabbed the bar easly with her right hand, and bent it in her grasp.

Carl moved back a little, a sadistic smile grew on Aries's face and walked towards the man who backed up into the wall. Aries was about to lunge the pipe into his skull whens she suddenly stopped.

_"Remember! No fighting! Promise!"_

Aries gritted her teeth and threw the bar to the floor. She moved away from the two men and made her way back out of the alleyway. However as she turned the second corner she stopped and hit the wall with her fist.

"DAMMIT!" Aries continued to hit the wall harder and harder, as she continued to punch with her right hand, blood had begin to be left behind, as well as the wall starting to brake down.

"FUCK SAKE!" Aries gave the wall one last punch, her fist went through the wall and as she pulled it out the wall started to come down. Aries snapped out and released what she had just done. She ran up to some crates and jumped on them and jumped over the wall that lead back out onto the streets.

 

* * *

 

Aries did her best to get rid of the blood that was flowing from her head. She placed some padding on her head to stop the bleeding, as she walked she looked at her hand and saw she had ripped her knuckles open a bit and one of them looked a little swollen.

Aries removed the padding from her head and saw that bleeding had stopped a little. She stopped and saw a tap in a wall, she walked to it and cleaned her face and hand. Aries could still feel the pent up tension inside of her. She tried to ignore it as she continued to walk, but suddenly came to a stop

"What the hell happened to you?" Aries looked at Zoro and Luffy who was covered in blood, while Nami just looked pissed off.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Nami shouted.

"I walked into a wall." Aries moved closer to the boys. "Jeez, whoever did it really did a number on yeah. I wonder how the other guy looks"

"Walked into a wall…? OH!  _that_ over guy was Bellamy and he's completely uninjured!" Nami barked

"What? You didn't even put up a fight?" Aries cocked her head a little.

"No"

Aries looked at them. "Heh, I wasn't there, and I don't/can't tell people on how they should fight."

The four of them walked back to the ship, silence had fallen over them. Aries was somewhat glad, cos she could feel a headache coming on.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aries has nicknames she calls the whole crew  
> Luffy - Straw Hat, Monkey/ -boy, (as it as both his last name and for the animal, most of the time she means the animal)  
> Zoro - Swords, but also Marimo. She usally calls him Zoro.  
> Nami - Red  
> Usop - Long nose  
> Sanji - Cook, blondie  
> Chopper - Doc/Doctor  
> Robin - Hands


	14. Usopp The Liar? Or Was It Noland The Liar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the views and such!

"L..L..LUFFY! ZORO!"

"NAMI, ARIES, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT!?" Sanji shouted with angst

"AHHH! D…D…DOCTOR!" Chopper shouted

"Thats you idiot!" Usopp hit Chopper across the head comically.

The four of them got on to the Merry and Chopper had brought all of his medical stuff out and started to work on Zoro.

"Aries who did that to you?!" Sanji tunred his head to Zoro and Luffy. "Your supposed to look after them"

"I can look after my self" Aries swatted Sanji's hand away from her irrantedly.

Chopper had put a patch on Aries's four head, then he went to work on her hand. Chopper was learnt that its best not to ask Aries questions all the time. The only way you could, was if Aries spoke about it first. Even if you did ask, she'd properly just ignore you. She isn't much of a talker when it comes to her injures, hell she wasn't must of a talker in general.

However as he looked at her hand Aries saw that he wasn't happy, she could tell that he wanted to ask about it. Well its not really surprising, she was positive that she had ripped her knuckles to the point that you could see white.

Once finished she went and on the railing as Chopper started to go to work on Luffy.

"So? What kind of freaky monster did you get into a fight with?" Usopp asked.

"Some pirate. Its fine, its over and done with" Luffy smiled a little.

"Yeah" Zoro placed his arms behind his head.

"It may be done and over with for you guys, but my temper sure ain't over" Nami clenched her fist. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! IF YOU CALL YOURSELVES MEN, YOU SHOULD UNLEASH SOME WHOOP-ASS WHEN JERKS COME ASKIN' FOR IT! ACTUALLY YOU SHOULD JUST FLATTEN THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN TOWN WHILE YOU'RE AT IT!"

"You're the one who told us not to cause trouble…"

Nami shot her head towards Zoro who was now standing next to her. "THE PAST IS THE PAST FOR A REASON! DON'T DRAG IT OUT TO THE PRESENT! OR I'LL MAKE YOU PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO BRING IT UP!" Nami cursed.

Zoro looked at her nervusly.

"I'd love to see that. Oh by the way, did you ask about Sky Island?" Aries raised her left leg up and rested her arm over her knee.

"Yeah did you?" Chopper sounded so excited.

Nami slowly turned around with demonic look in her eyes. "SKY ISLAND?!"

Chopper moved away from her shaking.

"I've HAD it with that subject! I mentioned Sky Island once, and the whole bar exploded in laughter…" Nami clenched her fist to the point her knuckles turned white. "DID I REALLY SAY SOMETHING THAT FUNNY?! WELL?! DID I?!" Veins popped out of her head and shouted at the top of her lungs.

 ** _"Certain Kill Ketchup Star!"_** Usopp was laying on the floor covered in ketchup.

 ** _"Guard Point!"_** Chopper was practically crying in fear.

"Y-you know something…" Luffy looked at Aries. "Spending time with you lot, I've come to a realisation... She's a demon in human skin…" Aries looked unnerved and she could feel herself getting a cold sweat.

"Shishishi" Luffy grinned.

"My, my. Don't things seem awfully noisy here?"

Aries looked behind her and saw Robin approaching them with some bags.

"Ahh" Welcome back, Robin! Will you be eating now? Or will you be taking a bath?!" Sanji seemed more excited about the second part.

"Oh, were you out Robin?"

"Yes, to acquire some clothes… As well as some information on Sky Island" Robin made her way onto the ship.

"THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT" YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED US OFF ON THIS WHOLE CRAZY GOOSE-CHASE ABOUT SKY ISLAND!" More veins popped in her head as she pointed at the older woman. "THE MOMENT I FIND OUT IT DOSN'T EXIST, YOU'RE FISH-FOOD!"

 ** _"Jumping Point!"_**  Chopper jumped into the water with Zoro irritatingly, following him.

Robin just looked at her questioningly.

"Just let her be for now…In fact don't even get near her right now." Usopp put his hands up in front of him, looking a little worried for Robins safety.

Robin walked up to Luffy and handed him a map.

"OHH! A treasure map!" Luffy sounded excited as he held the map in his hands.

"Its not just a normal map, but a map of where…?" Usopp looked over Luffy's shoulder.

"This island" Robin replied as she took her hat off.

Aries walked to Luffy and Usopp and looked over his shoulder. "Island looks weird" She crossed her arms of her chest.

"The town on the left is where we are. Mocktown. You see a mark at the cost on the other side don't you…? Apparently an outcast lives there."

"Outcast?" Luffy, Aries and Usopp synced.

"His name is Montblanc Cricket. A man chased out of this town for talking of dreams… Seems like we have mutual interest, doesn't it? She smiled.

 

* * *

 

They sailed away, and after a while they saw there was another ship not far in front of them, they could hear shouting coming from them.

"What the hell's that…?" Aries put a hand above her eyes.

"Looks like we've already run into some weirdos" Luffy causally spoke. "But I don't think its " _him_ " Usopp"

Usopp and Chopper were both hiding behind Sanji who looked a little annoyed.

"Not sure if that's a good or bad thing though… Well in any case, we saw them, no doubt about it!"

"That;s right! The salvage crew we ran into earlier, are defiantly from this island! We saw them returning back to the dock!" Chopper panicked.

"Ohh... Well I don't really care if I run across them again though"

"Either way" Aries interlocked her figures and stretched her arms out, so the back of her hands were facing her. "I've been itching for a fight!"

"Aries!" Uopp cried.

"HEY YOU! YEAH, YOU"" They shouted. "STOP CHATTING OVER THERE!"

"TSK! Jeez, and I thought it was somebody dangerous. It was me a little bit edgy" A giant looking…man? Was sat in a tree styled throne.

"You have a very strange face" Luffy blurted out.

"What Species are you?" Aries spoke nonchalantly.

"I'm human you punks"

".…." Aries just looked dumbfounded.

"WHHHHH!" one of his crewmen shouted.

"Don't mess with our captain!" Another yelled.

"Forget it, forget it. It seems like guys are pirates! Did you know that Crocodile's seat in the Shichibukai is empty now? If they judge by real strength, that should be mine now" I'm so edgy just waiting." he clenched his fist a little.

Aries couldn't help but let out a snigger.

"Ah, you want to join the Shichibukai?"

"Ah!? I know you're wondering why me, so I'll tell you something special about me." he cleared his throat. "Ever since I was born, I've never had a hair cut. That's 25 years without one! …So, did I surprise you?"

The five of them just looked at him, then a second later Aries burst out laughing.

"You're an idiot" Luffy brutally pointed out.

Aries fell to her knees as she held onto her belly.

"Ahh, Ari-chan is soo cute when she laughs~" Sanji swooned.

"What!? You surprised me"

"How dare you laugh and say that to the captain!" one of his crewmen shouted.

"Forget it, forget it. Jeez, your response really made me a little edgy. Remember this, passing through the tunnel called "My Fury" …. The result with be a sea of blood." He looked at the group a little menacingly.

"Whatever, we have somewhere to go, so get out of the way." Luffy bent his arms and placed the back of his hands on his hips.

"Let me help you, my darling" Sanji put a and out for Aries while his other one was on his chest.

"ha…ha, Thanks" Aries wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You stupid idiot! This part of the sea is my territory! If you want to pass you have to pay the toll!" He screeched.

"Ah! Hes like the troll under the bridge" Aries hit the side of her fisted hand into the palm of her other.

Usopp looked at her exasperatingly. "Not exactly…"

"But anyway, the "territory" thing again, he talks just like Masira" Usopp continued.

"Did Masira say that too?" Luffy asked,

"What? Masira?! What happened to Masira?!"

"Huh? We sent him flying with a kick but…"

"YOU SENT HIM FLYING … FLYING WITH A KICK? HOW DARE YPU TREAT MY BROTHER LIKE THAT?!" he interrupted Luffy.

"CAPTAIN!"

"Eh? Hey, wait a minute… We may have kicked him, but he's still ali-"

"I WILL AVENGE MASIRA!" He interrupted again.

"he could be shark food…" Aries pondered.

"SOUND WAVE!  ** _"WAIL OF DESTRUCTION!"_**  Shoujou shouted at the top of his lungs through a microphone. As he did a massive shock wave was realsed.

"The ship…" Luffy's eyes widened a little.

"GAH!"

"CAPTAIN! YOU CANT USE THAT TECHNIQUE WHILE ON THE SHIP!" A crewman shouted.

"HE'S LOST ALL SELF-CONTROL BECAUSE OF HIS ANGER!"

His own ship was beginning to get ripped apart, his crew shouted in both pain, and to tell their captain what he was doing.

Aries watched as the scene unfolded before her amber and black eyes. "This hurt just to watch"

"What are those guys doing?" Sanji breathed out some smoke.

"No idea… He's crazy to use those loud sound waves. Its destroying his own ship" Luffy replied.

"What are you guys doing? Don't just stand there, hurry up and get us out of here" Nami shouted.

"Oh, Nami's not a devil anymore" Luffy smiled.

"YES!~" Sanji shouted with his arms above his head.

"She has already released all of her anger on us…" Usopp made sure to keep his distance from her.

"Huh?" Aries looked around and her eyes widened a little.

"W…Wait!"

Around them the ship had started to be torn apart, Aries put her hands over her ears as the wave hit her.

"Damn! The sound waves are reaching our ship!" Usopp panicked.

"Cracks are appearing in the parts we fixed earlier!"

"This ships already in bad shape! If we stay here, the ship will be in pieces"

"Full speed ahead! Get out of range of this sound!" Nami shouted. The boys went to their stations and the ship began to sail away from them, however the damaged was already done.

 

* * *

 

> _**\- A while later -** _

The Straw hats managed to get away, however they took a bit of damage, Zoro, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper where helping out fixing it…Luffy however, accidentally caused more destruction in his wake.

Aries sat on the railing at the front of the ship next to Nami. The wind blow through her shoulder length, slight messy hair, doing so made all of her hair get pushed off the left side of her face, as it did she moved her hand up to feel the side of her neck. Just under her ear her figures brushed against the mark on her neck. She pressed her blunt nails and dragged them slightly across the mark.

Her attention drifted to what was being said around her, as Aries looked out in front of her she cocked her head a little with a questionable look.

"Umm…Who is it that we're looking for again?"

"Montblanc Cricket" Robin spoke, with the wind blowing her hair out of her face.

"...SO the man who talks of dreams lives there?" Nami replied.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy's mouth hung wide open.

"WHOA-" Usopp eyes popped out.

".…." Aries looked dumbfounded.

"THIS IS HIS HOUSE?!"

"Whoa, maybe he's like, super duper rich?!"

"No don't believe it" Aries waved dismissively.

"Look again you dimwits." Zoro sighed.

"Well for a dreamer, he sure does "dream big." Sanji pulled the cig out of his mouth and the smoke oozed out.

"What do you mean?" Chopper used his hooves to open his eyes further.

As the ship sailed closer to the land they saw that the place was nothing more then a charade.

"AGHH! ITS JUST A WOODEN BOARD!" Luffy shouted in disappointment.

"WHAAAAA?!" Usopp's mouth hit the floor.

"That's just sad…" Aries placed her hand on the left side of her face, she had her figures separated so she could still see.

"Only half is an actual house…The other half's just a veneer" Zoro placed Wado over his right shoulder, keeping a firm grip on it.

Sanji pulled up the sails as he spoke. "Must be a pretty cheap guy."

"Just what sort of dreams was he talking about what got him run out of town?" Nami turned to the older woman, who was sat on the railing.

"I don't know the details, but… Supposedly, there's a vast amount of gold hidden in this island of Jaya"

"GOLD?!" everyone apart form Sanji, Aries and Zoro spoke up.

"Who knows…?" Robin replied.

 

* * *

 

Aries made of her way off the ship and followed Luffy and Sanji to the house. Behind her she could hear Nami shouting to Chopper, to start digging for gold.

"This place sure is small…" Aries placed her hands in her pockets and looked around.

"Helloooo? Anybody home? I'm coming in!" Luffy opened the door and began to walk in.

"So he lives alone, all the way out here on the islands edge?" Sanji puffed some smoke out.

"WHAT, YOU'RE JUST BARGING IN!?" Usopp shouted as he stood next to Nami.

"HELLOOO?!"

"Monkey, What're we gonna do if this guy's dangerous?" Aries asked with some excitement in her voice.

"Hm? I don't see anyone inside…"

"The place is empty" Aries tapped her foot on the side of the table gently. she looked disappointed.

Aries walked back to Nami, who was sat reading a book.

"And so the liar, very pitifully. Met his end…Without even becoming a brave warrior of the sea…" Nami looked at him pitifully.

"Warrior?" Aries cocked her head a little.

"WHAT'RE YOU LOOKIN' AT ME FOR?! AND DON'T GO INSERTING LINES THAT AREN'T EVEN IN THE STORY!" Usopp shouted in annoyance.

Aries stood next to them when she suddenly turned around. "MONKEY! GET AWAY FR-"

Before she could finish, Luffy was already in the water. "Wha?" Luffy fell into the ocean!" Nami shouted.

"W-what so you think you're doin'?!" Usopp panicked.

Everyone shot there attention to a man who was pulling himself from the water.

"Just who the hell are you people?!"

"Usopp! Get Luffy outta the water!" Sanji got ready to fight against the half naked man.

"You've got some guts barging in another man's house and making yourself at home. The seas around here are my territory."

"I'm sick of hearing this territory shit…" Aries spoke in annoyance.

"You've come for my gold. Haven't you?" He got ready to fight Sanji head on.

The man called Cricket shot a kick at Sanji's chest. However Sanji suddenly moved out of the way, efficiently dodging the kick. Then without warning Cricket went to kick Sanji in the head, Sanij ducked down, but as he did Cricket shot his hand towards Sanji head. He had his full hand out, his fingers heading towards Sanji's face.

Sanji swiftly pulled his leg up and caught his hand with the joint of his foot. As Sanji caught it, without warning Cricket pulled out a gun and shot it at his head. As the shot went off Sanji backed flipped just in time, as he went backwards the bullet cut through his hair.

"SANJI!" Chopper and Nami shouted.

"Don't worry, it didn't hit me!" Cricket let off more shot with Sanji managing to doged them all. "But… Just gimme a lil' longer to finish him off!"

"That's what you get for underestimating him, you dumbass…" Zoro held onto Wado tightly.

Aries clenched her fist, but before she did anything she saw Zoro heading towards them.

"Hm?!" Zoro looked at the old man.

Aries watched as the man fell to the floor, dropping his cigeret and gun. Usopp pulled Luffy onto the edge, Aries slowly edged herself closer to the four of them, she had her arms to the sides and was slowly flexing her hands, looking a little anxious.

"You…you okay old man?" Sanji asked unsurely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 - Prologue - is just a chapter that hints at whats to come. Bits might be changed later, but I havn't decided yet, still editing them all.


	15. Hitting To Close To Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things hit close to home for Aries.

"Cool this towel a little more. And open all the windows." Chopper spoke.

Aries stood on the windowsill and hooked the blinds holder onto the hook. She got down and sat on the ledge, she pressed her feet onto the wall and rested her arms across her thighs watching Chopper work on Cricket.

"Diver's disease?" Zoro and Aries asked in sync.

"The old mans sick?" Luffy looked at the man lying in the bed.

"Yes, its an illness that occasionally affects divers. But normally, it doesn't grow serious enough to become a chronic illness." Chopper explained.

"The cause is sudden drop in pressure when rising from deep below the sea to the surface. This drop in pressure destabilizes the dissolved gases in the human body, forming bubbles. As the formed bubbles collect in the blood streams and tissues, they cause pain and distress in the muscles, joints and blood vessels." Chopper babbled on.

Aries wanted to listen to what Chopper was saying, but she just couldn't keep her focus. She moved over a little so Luffy could rest his arms on the side and look out of the window.

"Oh, so its sort of a magic disease." Luffy stared out to the horizon.

"Ugh, your telling me" Aries sighed and she closed her eyes and cocked her head to the side a little.

"This person must have been diving so frequently that the bubbles didn't have enough time to disappear naturally."

"So for this magic" She cleared her throat "…Disease to appear. He must have been diving a lot?" Aries asked and she placed her left hand under her leg and had her right hand out with the back of her hand facing the floor, gesturing.

"Yes, the bubbles didn't have enough time to disappear naturally." Chopper replied.

"What could have driven him to this?" Nami asked

"I don't know… But its very dangerous. Depending on the severity, diver's disease can even lead to death.

 

* * *

 

Everyone was minding there own business when suddenly monkey's shot through the door.

"BOOOOSSSS" ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

Everyone stopped dead in there tracks as they looked towards the door way.

"Monkeys…" Aries blurted.

"AGHHHH! THEY'VE COME TO KILL US!" Usopp shouted his mouth wide open.

"GYAAA!" Chopper ran behind Nami.

"JUST WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE!?"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO OUR BOSS?!"

"What, you guys again? We're treating the sick old man so scram." Luffy blurted out.

Aries smiled as she bit the tip of her tongue.

"Luffy, you idiot! You cant reason with them, they're wild beast! Everyone evacuate, evacuate thought the window asap!" Nami, Usopp and Chopper panicked frantically.

"They're… They're good people…!" The brothers cried.

The Usopp, Nami and Chopper practically floored it. "IT WORKED?!" They shouted.

 

* * *

 

Aries opened the door and and saw Luffy getting along well… maybe a bit too well, with Masira and Shoujou.

"W-whats going on?" she asked sheepishly.

"He getting along so well with them…why?" Usopp asked.

"Got something in common I guess…" Zoro replied.

"Cos there monkeys…?"

Both Zoro and Usopp looked at her, while thinking.

Aries watched as they continued to get along so well.

"Luffy, he's awake!" Chopper walked between Aries and the door frame.

"He's up?"Luffy headed towards the house with Zoro, Aries and Usopp making their way inside. "Diamond-head mister! I got stuff I wanted to ask." he smiled.

Aries rested against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest with Zoro standing not too far from the door way. Nami and Usopp was standing near the bed with Chopper packing all of this medical stuff away.

"Sorry about the attack earlier." He puffed some smoke out. "I mistook you for the usual idiots who come snifin' for gold." Cricket was sat up in his bed smoking.

"Gold? So you do have some?!" Nami clapped her hands together and had practically Beri signs in her eyes.

"Don't provoke him" Usopp stated.

"So… what is it you want to ask me?"

"We wanna go to Sky Island!" Luffy smiled wide. "Teach us how!"

"Sky Island?" The man had a slight menacing look to him, however that was suddenly replaced with the sound of laughter. "Ahahahaha! You folks seriously believe in that?!"

"Nami, no! Hes a sick patient!" Usopp had to hold Nami back from laying the old man flat on his back. Aries looked on with entertainment, all the while smiling.

"What, so there's no such thing!?" Luffy sounded a little heart broken.

".…Ha… Who knows for sure… I do know of one man who said it existed… But the entire world labelled him a liar, and his entire family line's been a laughing stock ever since." He smiled a half smile with the cig in his mouth.

Luffy turned his head to look at Usopp with a dramatic, unbelievable look on his face. "….!"

"ITS NOT ME!" Usopp dope slapped the air.

"Noland the liar," is how the story goes"

Luffy just looked back at Usopp with he same look. "….!"

"I TOLD YOU ALREADY, ITS NOT ME! EVEN THE NAMES DIFFERENT!"

"Ah, but Usopp, they could of changed their name. Don't Lie, we know its you" Aries smiled evilly.

"Don't you start!" he cried.

"You're his descendant?! And this island is the very island in the story?!" Nami sounded completely shocked.

"He's the grandfather of my grandfather… Of my grandfather, and so on up the line… Suffice to say, he's a distant ancestor of mine, which is troubling to say the least… I properly share as much blood with him as a mosquito can carry in its belly…"

"Family's are Bitches" Aries scoffed. She placed her hand on the side of her neck, feeling the mark on her neck with a saddish look. She didn't notice that Nami was looking at her questionably.

"The Montblanc family's been run our of that kingdom, but their abuse and humiliation by the people's hands still continues…But not a single member resents him…"

"Whys that?" Aries asked quickly.

"Because Noldand, was a man of upstanding honesty"

"What?" they gasped.

"That's ridiculous" Aries mumbled under her breath.

"In the finale scene of the picture book, Noland says "Ah, that's It! The mountain of gold must have sunk into the sea!" There, he's drawn with a stupid smile on his face, but the real man supposedly died with big blobs of tears streaming down his face." Cricket pulled the cig form his mouth and let out some smoke.

"He was absolutely sure that the island that they'd landed at, was the same Jaya where he'd discovered the rules of a golden city. The thought that maybe he had seen an illusion never even crossed his mind. Noland calmed that an earthquake must have caused the city of gold to sink to the ocean floor. But the people could only see it as a desperate excuse made to save his own skin. And the crowd mocked him to no end as he was executed."

Aries moved off the wall and started to head out of the house. When she walked past Zoro he watched as she walked to the door.

"So then!" Have you come here in search of the golden city at the ocean floor, so that you could wipe away your family's dishonor?!"

"DON'T BE STUPID!"

She was about to walk out when she heard gun shots. She shot around and saw Usopp cowering on the floor with a bullet hole inches above his head. Luffy looked like he was about to rip the old man's head off.

"USOPP!" Chopper shouted.

"Whether my distant ancestor really was an honest man, or a great explorer… WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?!" Cricket shouted. "What would a you know, about the feelings of a child, who's had to grow up being insulted and laughed at by every stranger, just because be happened to share the same blood as that idiot!"

Aries looked at Cricket as he spoke, she narrowed her eyes and then looked away and rested against the door way.

"But in the past 400 years, there have been countless members of my family, who set out for the seas to reclaim our family's honor or whatever… Don't know what ever happened to any of them but, I felt embarrassed by them. And so I ran away from home, and became a pirate…"

"Oh, you're a pirate a pirate too, mister?

"Its not that I wanted to become one, I just wanted to escape from Nolands cures that's all.

">TSK<" Aries stared at nothing in particular, she had placed her figure on the scar across her nose. She had stopped listing to Cricket and was drowning in her thoughts.

 

* * *

 

_There was about 5 young looking, teenagers standing around Aries. She was on the floor wiping blood from her mouth._

_"Hahaha" Jan laughed._

_"Your such a freak!" Diango spat._

_"Jay, why do we have to be near a half-breed. I might get something from it!" Gia spoke annoyingly._

_There was a few rocks near her, few of them was covered in blood from where they had been thrown with such force they cut her. She had blood flowing from her head and nose, she was then approached by a kid with green irises and black sclera's. He grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head into the floor with such force the ground cracked a little._

_"You know, my parents say half-breeds like you should be killed." He had a menacing tone to his voice._

_Aries gritted her teeth, blood flowed down from her head onto the ground, there she saw his tail and grabbed it with all her might. He let out a cry of pain and let go of her, and she manged to get to her feet._

_"Bitch!" he hissed._

_Aries slowly edged herself way from them. The way she is now, a 1v1, for her, is stupid and she wouldn't win. But a 1v5 is just a death wish. Aries turned and ran as fast as her leg could carry her._

_"Hey Jay! Shes getting away!" Gia shouted._

_"I know! Get her!"_

_The 5 of them ran after her, Aries's speed had grown over the years, but she was still slower them a full born. She knew she couldn't get away from them, but maybe she could get home, maybe to safety._

_Something caught her attention, she manged to move out of the way. Once she did she saw it was Diango, he had gone to kick her but she dodged. However what came next was something she wasn't fast enough to move out of the way from. Out of nowhere a blade slashed across her face, cutting across her nose._

_Distracted_ _by this she was then tackled to the floor. She was pinned by Jay who was looking at her with such hatred. Aries had no idea why he was looking at her like this, she had never done anything to deserve this…right? All she was doing was existing. But it wasn't just them, the adults looked at her like as well… like a disgrace._

_"You shoulda known. A half-breed like you couldn't hope to win against a full born" He brought the blade closer to her face. Blood was pouring out of the wound on her face it flowed down her cheeks. She tried to move but he had her pinned good._

_"H-hey. Are you sure about this? I mean, look at her eyes. Her grandfathers piratically_ Rex  _inst  she?" James asked nervously._

_"Maybe so, but my parents told me that its time to take them down… and besides… a half-breeds still a half-breed." he placed the blade on her neck._

_"Please stop!" Aries cried. "I haven't done anything to you! You always keep your distance from me! So how is it that you hate me so much?!" She shouted with anger._

_The group was silent. "My mother told me that half-breeds are a disgrace. She told me that they shouldn't be allowed to live, mixing the Danos blood with another race. Especially a humans… its a sin" Jay replied with no emotion._

_"S-so your like this because your mother told you to…?" Aries looked taken back._

_"There is that… But I just don't like you" He smiled and started to press that blade harder._

_"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!" A older voice came out._

_The kids shot there head to a figure that had come out of the trees. As the figure stepped into view a smiled spred across Aries's face._

_"Grandfather!" She shouted._

_The kids looked nervous and everyone, apart from Jay edged away from him. However he just looked to them menacingly, the more he stared them down the more they became nervous. He slowly walked towards Jay, as she did Jay could feel a cold chill go down his spine. He dropped the blade and got of Aries._

_"C-c'mon Jay" Gia edged closer to the trees._

_Jay looked at her and saw terror in her face. He looked back and as he did, he saw that Aries's grandfather had gotten closer and was now in front of him, staring down at him. Dark amber and black eyes, eyes that could burn through anything. Jay fell backwards and his body began to shake, there was sweat running down his face._

_"I Said. What. Are. You. Doing.?" the atmosphere was eerie, there was no wind at all and everything was quiet._

_Jay swallowed hard. As Aries's grandfather moved_ _his foot, Jay shot up and they all ran away crying in fear._

_He turned around to Aries who was looking at him weirdly. She got herself up and walked closer to him._

_"Ah! Aries dear!" He bend down and held onto her face, moving it from side to side looking at the cuts and bruise on her face. "What have they done to you!" He nearly had tears in his eyes._

_Aries was always amazed at how he can suddenly switch from someone so terrifying, to a big softy in a split second. But when it came to Aries, he was always a big softy._

_"Avus! Its fine honestly." She smiled. "You really think something like this would bother me?" She hide her true emotions behind a warm smile. However her grandfather knew best. He brought her in for a warm, gentle hug._

_Aries loved it when he was like this. He was everything to her, she couldn't imagine her life without him. He was the only family she could ever want._

 

* * *

 

"It was a personal fight between me, and the man who had ruined my life…" Cricket pulled his cig out of his mouth, as he talked the smoke escaped his mouth. "Before I kicked the bucket, I wanted to settle the issue once and for all…!"

Everyone looked at him as he talked, Usopp started to cry and he put his arm over his eyes.

"...A true man…" He cried.

">TSK<" Aries turned and walked out of the house and headed for the woods.

 

* * *

 

Aries had spend a bit of time in the woods finding food, fruits mostly. She decided to head back, but she felt a bit off, she couldn't explain it. So she pushed it to the back of her mind while she was eating some apples on the way back.

As she came back from the woods she saw Usopp was standing and was staring intently at Cricket, the atmosphere was dense, Aries moved closer, slowly.

"W-what? You wanna go or somethin'!?" Usopp shouted.

"Oh is there gonna be a fight?" Aries mumbled to Zoro, she sounded a little excited.

"Hm?"

"Your still half asleep arn't you…?" Aries sighed.

"When "night" is spotted at daytime in Masira's turf, the emperor-nimbus cloud can be seen in the skies south from there… And if going by the estimate of a knock-up stream happening 5 times a month, there should be another one tomorrow. And that too, will properly happen south from here" Cricket started to walk back to the house pilling the cig out as he did.

"I cant say any of this with 100% certainty, but there's a good chance of those two events happening together in the same place tomorrow." He walked past Usopp. "But above all, I'm happy meeting fools like you. Now lets eat. You can stay the night at my place today. Friend" Cricket smiled.

"Shishishi" Luffy smiled. "Time for food! Hurry up, Usopp!" Luffy jumped with joy.

"Im confused…" Aries put the bag over her shoulder. Aries noticed that Nami and Usopp had stayed behind and was talking about soothing.

"Yeah, come quickly!"

"Chopper, go call Robin"

"Ok"

"IM, SOOOO SOOOORRRYY, MISTER!" Usopp cried and he ran, nearly tackling Cricket to the ground as he hugged him.

"AGHH! Don't get your snot on me!"

"These guys are weird" Aries huffed and walked into the house.

 

* * *

 

Hours had gone by quite quick, everyone was enjoying themselves. Who woulda thunk, that a few hours ago, that they had gotten into some small fights with Cricket and the two brothers.

 _This kid just draws people to him._  Aries thought as she looked at Luffy, then looked at Robin. I heard hands was an enemy… This kid is something all right. She smiled

Aries was eating her food, she was sat in the furthest corner, not too far from Robin. For some reason she felt at ease around her, especially if she was eating. She was away from he others, and most importantly… away from Luffy. She had seen his had flying around before, grabbing food from palates. Mostly from Choppers and Usopps.

As Aires had gotten accustom to the Straw hats, she began to, sometimes eat with them, it was rare for her to do so, she mostly did it if she couldn't sit outside due to bad weather. But during one of theses said time, Luffy's hand had overstretched and it would have landed on Aries's food. The only reason it didn't was because she had stabbed the fork few inches away from Luffys finger tips. After that he made sure to look where his hands stretched. That and saying  _"Go for my food again… and we'll see how far you can stretch before you snap!"_  As well as adding a menacing stare to go with it… seemed to have worked. And Aries was content with that.

She must admit, he's a fast learner.

Aries had finished her food and was happily chewing on a chicken's leg bone. She looked at the book Robin was looking at but it didn't interest her. Since Aries was sat on the floor, instead of getting up and walking, like a normal person, she decided to crawl towards the others. She crawled up to Zoro and grabbed some Sake.

"Don't hog it all" She pouted a little.

She crossed her leg and looked at the massive group in front of her.

"Why don'cha take a seat here by me, sister!" Cricket spoke to Nami.

"Its still a 100 years to early for you to make Nami serve you drinks!" Sanji hissed as he placed his foot on Cricket head to stop him from moving closer.

Nami, meanwhile didn't say anything as she looked at them. Aries attention driftnet to the back of them, where she saw Usopp trying to get away from Masira, due to him placing hot source into his food.

"So you know how to hold yer drink, eh?"

Aries looked to side of her and saw Shoujou happily drinking with Zoro.

"Heh, I'm still well within my limit" Zoro grinned.

Aries looked to the side of her and saw Luffy was scoffing down food, while Chopper was happy drinking.

Aries still had a few bandages on her body. They were mostly around her torso or back. She still had bandages around her left leg, that stopped at just a little under her knee. She still hasn't fixed it properly. She needs specialised tools to fix it fully... Not that she knows how to fix it fully, but she does know how to make it more usable.

Aries looked at her exposed ankle, and put her figures on it.  _I guess I could ask Long-nose if I could borrow his tools…_  Aries mused.

"I saw gold in the right eye of the skull" Cricket quoted.

Everyone looked behind and saw Cricket was inches away from Robin as he spoke this. He then stepped back into the middle of the group.

"Gold?!" Nami perked up, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"That tear-stained entry was the last thing Noland wrote in his journal… He was executed later that day." He downed his drink. "Even after coming to Jaya, I still have no idea what he meant by that line"

Everyone was listing intently.

"Right eye of the skull? Was that the name of the fabled city? Or was It just a cryptic message about his impending death…? The blank pages afterwards don't help at all in unraveling the mystery behind that line." he continued as he finished off his drink.

Luffy meanwhile just smiled happily as he ate his food.

"AND THAT'S WHY WE DIVE! TO SEE THE DREAMS LYING ON THE OCEAN FLOOR!"

"THAT'S RIGHT! UKIKI!"

"UOHO!"

"WE'RE GONNA FLY!"

"UP IN TO SKY!"

"WOOHOO!"

The group erupted in excitement and joy and the nose levels raised again. Aries looked around, everyone enjoying themselves, not a care in the world. She could feel a warm, genuine smile form on her face. She looked at the floor then suddenly downed her drink.

 _Maybe… I could stay a little longer._  Aries pondered with a smile.

The gang enjoyed themselves, unbeknownst to them, Bellamy was on his way.


End file.
